Yesterday I went to confession. I usually go every year around this time. 

I’ve been struggling lately with feeling like I’m stressing everything in my life. I know this tends to happen to me, every year. The year is ending, there’s so much to do. And I get all caught up in the stress of the hustle and bustle. And sad to say I let my anxiety cloud over the true meaning of Christmas.

What the priest said in response was something that I will keep with me.

He said that my anxiety was a gift and when I looked at him with confusion, he laughed and explained further.

He began to explain to me how God comes to us during our struggles. We may not think he’s there, but he’s with us. Walking with us. Because he was there when Jesus Christ was born, he walked through Bethlehem while Mary walked through, pregnant and all. And they were rejected and turned away, no one caring to help them. Jesus was born in a stable- dirty, muddy, cold, dark, with the animals.

So the way he explained it is that Jesus comes into your life at Christmas time during all your stress and your struggles to be your light. 

And as he sat there explaining that to me, my eyes watered and everything was put into perspective. 

Thank you, God, for sending me the message I desperately needed to hear. 

-<3-