Silent Nights & Christmas Lights.

I waited until all my family had retired to their beds for the night before grabbing my hot chocolate and sitting on the sofa beside my Christmas tree. The soft glow of the lights flickered in their colours, casting a peaceful rhythm across the room. Above me, the names of Jesus hung on Advent cards, each one a reminder of the depth and beauty of this season. I sat there for a moment, breathing it all in.

I thought about my children in their rooms, each tucked in with their dreams. My husband, his steady snoring drifting from our bedroom. And as I sat there in the stillness, my heart exploded with a mix of gratitude and ache. Gratitude for this life, for this family, for the love that fills these walls. And heart break, for those who don’t have this same peace, this same warmth, this same presence.

I had a fractured family, a lonely upbringing, but in my adult years, God gifted and surrounded me with an arm full of people who give me the love I so desperately need. I don’t take it for granted, and yet, I have a constant reminder of that loneliness. It’s the ache I carry with me, and it makes me treasure what I have now even more.

I want to breathe in these quiet moments, soaking them into my memory. The laughter of the day, the noise and chaos that fill our home, all of it is a gift. But there’s a piece of me that hurts for those who have no such peace, no such love surrounding them in their homes. I can’t help but think of the lonely hearts, the ones whose arms are empty of the ones they once held, whose homes are quiet in the stillness of the night.

Their tears fall in the silence of the season. And it’s their loneliness that has seeped into every pore of my body. I don’t want to forget them. I need them to know they are loved. That they are not forgotten.

As I sit there in the dim glow of the Christmas lights, my heart stirs with a sense of urgency. I reach for the pen and paper I left on the coffee table earlier and begin to write. What can I do, Lord, to show them that You see them? That You long for them to be wrapped in Your arms? How can I make sure they feel the love that You so freely give this season? How can I let them know that they are loved, that they matter?

So, I go to work. Writing their names down. The gift of words, verses, and prayers I want to wrap into their gifts. The invitations I want to extend—the small, simple ways I can offer them the peace I’m holding in my own heart. And I make a silent promise to God that my heart for them will extend beyond a season. That this love, this care, will not fade when the Christmas lights are packed away, but will live on in every day.

This Christmas, as I gaze at the twinkling lights, I am reminded that there is so much more to the season than what we often see. It’s about reaching out, embracing the lonely, the hurting, the forgotten. It’s about making sure no one feels invisible, that everyone knows that they are loved and seen, both by God and by us.

And so, as the silent night surrounds me, I pray for those who need the love of Jesus the most. I ask God to guide me in how I can be His hands and feet in this season, to reach out to those whose hearts are broken, and to share the message of His hope, joy, and peace.

In the quiet moments of this Christmas season, may we remember those who ache in the silence and may we be a light to them, just as the light of Christ shines into our hearts.

Love Sarah xx.

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