Today is Christmas, which I do not celebrate as explained in this post A Very Merry Un-Christmas.

Nevertheless, since it is “Christmas Day” I had a day off, so I decided to walk at the park this morning. On the way, I made a detour into the city, which was completely still. There were no cars. No people. Everyone was home with their families or doing whatever they were doing today.

Everyone except the stragglers. I made a loop on one of the main streets, which also drives under the bridge, filled with tents and homeless people.

I don’t know what it was, but realizing how quiet the city was and its reason made me give extra attention to the people walking around alone. They could have been just like me, and Christmas was just another day to them. Maybe they don’t celebrate either?

But, maybe they did, and they were alone. What if some of them lost jobs and are fighting for their lives? What if they are fighting for their families? Maybe their family walked out on them? I do not know what the people I drove past stories were, but my mind was filled with various scenarios of how the world stresses that today is supposed to be “merry and bright” and filled with joy and family, causing me to sob uncontrollably in the car.

I drove past a hospital probably filled with families in there having one day of “happy” or maybe a nursing home filled with people who have no one to visit them?

It suddenly came on as I imagined people home gift swapping while driving through realities of out in the weather alone.

What if this time of year was not a time of joy, and faking a smile broke them?

I’m not sure what the point of this depressing post is except, “Be kind. For everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.”

The world sees days of joy and family.

God gives us every day to have joy. His burden is light. He is the light of the world who came for the heavy-laden and sorrowful. He will be our rest. He laid his life down so that we could have one. He didn’t come to force a smile and put on a happy face and buy people you don’t really like presents.

He came to set the captives free.

On the flip side… people could’ve made up their own stories about ‘this girl’ walking alone who simply doesn’t celebrate Christmas with a day off from work.

(This comes after a day at work where I had a customer that made me use every ounce of self-control in the last ten minutes of my shift. I was so frazzled when I left that when I got home, stress ate pretzels and, for some reason, tucked my shirt into my pants. It was so hysterical to me and made everything better.

I mean, have you ever tucked a t-shirt into your pants and pulled them up high and looked in the mirror?)

“AT THAT TIME JESUS ANSWERED AND SAID, I THANK THEE, O FATHER, LORD OF HEAVEN AND EARTH, BECAUSE THOU HAST HID THESE THINGS FROM THE WISE AND PRUDENT, AND HAST REVEALED THEM UNTO BABES. EVEN SO, FATHER: FOR SO IT SEEMED GOOD IN THY SIGHT. ALL THINGS ARE DELIVERED UNTO ME OF MY FATHER: AND NO MAN KNOWETH THE SON, BUT THE FATHER; NEITHER KNOWETH ANY MAN THE FATHER, SAVE THE SON, AND HE TO WHOMSOEVER THE SON WILL REVEAL HIM.

COME UNTO ME, ALL YE THAT LABOUR AND ARE HEAVY LADEN, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST. TAKE MY YOKE UPON YOU, AND LEARN OF ME; FOR I AM MEEK AND LOWLY IN HEART: AND YE SHALL FIND REST UNTO YOUR SOULS. FOR MY YOKE IS EASY, AND MY BURDEN IS LIGHT.” – MATTHEW 11:25-30

“AND I SAW HEAVEN OPENED, AND BEHOLD A WHITE HORSE; AND HE THAT SAT UPON HIM WAS CALLED FAITHFUL AND TRUE, AND IN RIGHTEOUSNESS HE DOTH JUDGE AND MAKE WAR.

HIS EYES WERE AS A FLAME OF FIRE, AND ON HIS HEAD WERE MANY CROWNS; AND HE HAD A NAME WRITTEN, THAT NO MAN KNEW, BUT HE HIMSELF. AND HE WAS CLOTHED WITH A VESTURE DIPPED IN BLOOD: AND HIS NAME IS CALLED THE WORD OF GOD.

AND THE ARMIES WHICH WERE IN HEAVEN FOLLOWED HIM UPON WHITE HORSES, CLOTHED IN FINE LINEN, WHITE AND CLEAN. AND OUT OF HIS MOUTH GOETH A SHARP SWORD, THAT WITH IT HE SHOULD SMITE THE NATIONS: AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON: AND HE TREADETH THE WINEPRESS OF THE FIERCENESS AND WRATH OF ALMIGHTY GOD. AND HE HATH ON HIS VESTURE AND ON HIS THIGH A NAME WRITTEN, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” – REVELATION 19:11-16

“AND GOD SHALL WIPE AWAY ALL TEARS FROM THEIR EYES; AND THERE SHALL BE NO MORE DEATH, NEITHER SORROW, NOR CRYING, NEITHER SHALL THERE BE ANY MORE PAIN: FOR THE FORMER THINGS ARE PASSED AWAY. AND HE THAT SAT UPON THE THRONE SAID, BEHOLD, I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW. AND HE SAID UNTO ME, WRITE: FOR THESE WORDS ARE TRUE AND FAITHFUL.

AND HE SAID UNTO ME, IT IS DONE. I AM ALPHA AND OMEGA, THE BEGINNING AND THE END. I WILL GIVE UNTO HIM THAT IS ATHIRST OF THE FOUNTAIN OF THE WATER OF LIFE FREELY.

HE THAT OVERCOMETH SHALL INHERIT ALL THINGS; AND I WILL BE HIS GOD, AND HE SHALL BE MY SON. – REVELATION 21:4-7