Vaneetha Rendall Risner "The Christmas season carries heavy expectations. Expectations that often more closely resemble Hallmark images than the quiet expectancy of celebrating Christ’s birth. We picture festive gatherings with family and friends, brightly wrapped gifts under decorated trees, and delicious meals around tables with loved ones.
"Yet for those who have experienced loss, the holidays often bring a sense of dread. I remember the cloud that hung over me as I approached the first Christmas after my son’s death. " . . .
"How do we enter this Christmas season, when loss feels ever present, without giving in to despair? How do we find joy when little is as it used to be, and our lives feel thin and empty? How do we celebrate the birth of Christ when nothing around us feels celebratory?"
Vaneetha Rendall Risner is the author of Walking Through Fire: A Memoir of Loss and Redemption. Vaneetha and her husband Joel live in Raleigh, NC, where she writes at her website, encouraging readers to turn to Christ in their pain.
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