Was It A Heavenly Christmas? …Hello Hump Day readers. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and are still basking in the peace, joy, hope and love of the season! I also hope it was a time of family and friends and it was a good time. Sometimes holidays take a turn we do not expect.

For instance, I remember living up in northern Wisconsin’s “artic zone” and trying to drive down to Illinois to be with family. There were times dad turned the station-wagon around because of inclement weather so back up to the resort for Christmas festivities—and hope that the storm doesn’t knock the phones out so we can call our relatives! When Al and I moved to Arizona things changed, but you still want to get back to your family. Two times we spent Christmas at O’Hare airport—ugh. Although, we did have a lot of joy with the others who were stranded and we sang Christmas songs and shared memories with complete strangers! It turned out to be an ‘O Holy Night’ indeed.

Here is an interesting Christmas story that I want to share with you from Thomas Edison’s life and how he responded to a Christmas disaster! There is much to learn from his wisdom.

“One night on December 24, 1914, a raging fire in West Orange, New Jersey, claimed Thomas Edison’s manufacturing facilities and with it, almost $1 million worth of equipment and the records of most of his work. People were devastated for him, a man they had come to know, like and respect. ‘What will he do?’ they murmured. The next morning is when they realized the power of Edison’s faith. As he walked about the charred embers and loss of most of his life’s work, he looked up at those around him and said: “There is value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Now we can start anew.” And that is exactly what he did!”

If your Christmas turned into an “ugly duckling” embrace the assurance, wisdom, and deep faith of Edison’s words. Instead of throwing up your hands in despair, or getting on the phone or worse, social media, and blab your anger to all, we can remember that our security lies with a baby in a manger. Yes, an infant child who had no place to rest his head, yet his cries in that manger still reach out to us today reminding us that he is Immanuel—God With Us and never against us.

How we react to losing worldly possessions, cranky family, ugly Christmas sweater gifts, etc., says everything about our priorities. What should we be setting our hearts on? Well, at this Christmas time, it should be about Jesus and the incredible gifts of love, peace, joy and hope that he brings. And those gifts are very different from the gifts we give at Christmas, or any time for that fact. Our gifts will not last, they will rust, fall apart, tossed out, and eventually be destroyed. But the gifts Jesus gives us—NEVER! We have them FOREVER!

Like Edison, when we encounter the loss of our human accomplishments and feel like the world is passing away in front of our eyes, we should look up to the heavens and remember that, in Christ, we will start anew, and anew, and anew until we find our final resting place in his glorious eternity in heaven. It’s the only way for us to be able to rejoice amidst our worldly troubles and losses.

The Apostle Paul in his letter to the church at Colossae, gives us just what we need when loss and disaster hit our lives: “You were raised from death with Christ. So live for what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Think only about what is up there, not what is here on earth. Your old self has died, and your new life is kept with Christ in God.” [3:1-3 NLT]

Perhaps your Christmas this year was less than ‘heavenly’ but be assured that Jesus knows, cares, and will always be there for you in both good and bad times. For me, I could have Christmas all year long—not the decorations, gifts, etc. For me, I love the glow of the angels’ songs, the star that led the Magi, and more than anything, the promise that my sins are forgiven and no matter the ups and downs of my life, I am secure in that Christ Child, my Savior and God. And that, my dear readers, makes a ‘heavenly Christmas, AMEN!