Merry Christmas from The Larsens - 2025
A Christmas reflection from my heart to yours.
December 1st, my father-in-law cut a hole in our kitchen ceiling to investigate why it seemed to be sagging. I hoped for the best and prepared myself for the worst. Unfortunately, it was more towards the latter; the soggy sheet rock and mold we found confirmed our suspicion. The upstairs shower was leaking, and we had no idea how, where, or why.
That night, I hosted a pity party, and man, it was a rager. I complained about how this was “just our luck”, imagined our shower falling onto the kitchen table, and cried over the mess. It was only the first of December and the month was ruined. Christmas ruined. Dig me a Grinch sized cave and I’m jumping in. Ruined. Bah Humbug.
But wait… why would this ruin Christmas?
The next day, I went to war with my negative thinking. I asked myself challenging questions and came to a settling conviction— when we fix our eyes on Jesus and set our mindset on the hope of eternity knowing God will someday make all things right, even the heaviest losses or troubles come with a blanket of peace.
Luke 2:10-11 says, “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”
Good news of great joy.
Our pastor recently defined joy in a way that struck my heart. He said, “joy is a deep settled contentedness.” It’s not circumstantial or fleeting like happiness can be. It’s a permanent, grounded inward delight that comes from knowing Jesus.
Jesus came so we may have life and life to the full. He’s our light in the darkness. Peace in chaos. Hope in despair. Overwhelming love. Our great joy. Deep, soul grounding contentedness, is ours for the taking (even amidst pain and suffering) all because of Him.
That is what the Lord has been impressing on my heart this season — to allow the deep joy of Jesus’ birth to settle and ground my heart in any and every circumstance.
In this broken world, embracing this deep joy is an act of resistance. It’s saying, yes, the hole in my ceiling sucks, yes, I wish I was holding our baby who is in heaven, yes, I miss my dad so much and wish he was still alive, and none of that will destroy me because nothing can snuff out the light of Jesus.
Whatever your heart holds right now, dear friend, my prayer is that you would feel loved, seen, and comforted by our precious savior who came so that you might experience the depth of our Father’s love.
May the power and love of our Great Joy press us forward. Together, let’s embrace the deep settled contentedness that comes when we proudly declare, “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5 NIV
