The next six weeks on the calendar can be the gloomiest time of the year. The nights grow longer, the temperatures cooler. The way we celebrate during these weeks also has a tendency to bring us down.

If the holidays are all about preparing meals and parties… Then it will mean a ton of extra calories that will lead to weight gain, tighter clothes, and the blues.

If the holidays are all about children… Then it will be especially painful for those who have lost children, for those who have never been able to have children, and for those whose children are estranged. The holidays will mean lost dreams that will lead to anguish, regret and the blues.

If the holidays are all about family… Then it will be especially painful for those of us, who have lost loved ones this past year. The holidays will mean empty chairs at the table that will lead to grief, sorrow and the blues.

If the holidays are all about shopping and exchanging gifts… Then it will mean a lot of shopping that will lead to a lot of stress, debt and the blues.

No wonder this is the gloomiest time of the year for many.

However, if holidays are truly holy days, if they are all about giving thanks to the Giver of Life and Love… Then the holidays will mean grace.

If the holidays are all about the Holy gift of God’s self to us through a little baby named Jesus… Then the holidays will mean hope.

If the holidays are all about Emmanuel, God with us… Then the holidays will mean peace.

If the holidays are all about God who came to earth to reach out, heal and forgive… Then the holidays will mean love.

If the holidays are all about God, who through Jesus the Christ came to love this world unconditionally and inclusively… Then the holidays will mean joy.

So, let’s avoid the blues this holiday season by making the worship of the God of our Lord Jesus Christ a priority, so we can receive the good news of these holy days, and together, share it with others.