Every once in a while, I am surprised whenever I open up the "Facepages" and I see something that I posted several years ago show up as a "memory." I usually laugh about it because, more often than not, it really can't be considered a "memory" since I usually don't remember the event at all. That happened to me a couple of days ago. I was "reminded" of a post I made nine years ago. I did not remember making the post, but I certainly remembered the circumstances that led me to make the post. I had just spent a very depressing Thanksgiving holiday alone in a big city with few, if any, friends around. It was easily one of the darkest periods of my life.
The post I made was probably as much a message to myself as it was for anyone else who may have read it at the time. In the midst of that dark time, I was reminded of something from the "Christmas" story from the Bible. "And the Angel said to them, 'Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.'" Those were two words that really resonated with me at that time. "Fear not." At that time, I did not have the advantage of knowing what He already knew when I made my desperate prayer with words I could not even form. That was, in time, I would realize the "tidings of great joy," that I was not all alone after all. I did have friends who had not abandoned me. The "friends" who had, were okay to leave behind. The difficult struggles I was experiencing were serving as a good "spiritual work-out" that was helping to make me a stronger person.
Considering the months we've all been through recently there may be more than a few of us who need to take heart in the message of the Angel to "Fear not." What about you? Are there "tidings of great joy" that you need to hear? Maybe those good tidings are that better days are ahead. Maybe those good tidings are that you are not alone in this struggle and there is a purpose for everything you are experiencing and going through. Maybe those good tidings are that you have more friends and folks who love you than you probably realize. So, I'll repeat what the Angel told those shepherds a couple of thousand years ago. "Fear not. I've got something really good to tell you!" I hope and pray that during this Christmas season you will open your ears and your mind and your heart to whatever "good tidings" you need to hear. Have a wonderful holiday season, from here on the sunny side.