Nothing is longer and lonelier than a cold December night during deployment.
The time between dinner and bedtime may seem to take forever, but when your last tiny angel finally relents and closes her eyes and it’s just you and a quiet house, the minutes tick away even slower, and the emptiness around you feels as vast as a cloudless, starry sky.
The empty places at the dinner table, on the sofa, and in your bed just highlight his absence from the traditions that have made this Christmas season so sweet in years past. You hang the Christmas lights alone, if you hang them at all. Your annual Christmas photo is just the kids. You try to find ways to include him in the gift-giving, but what is usually shared excitement looks more like disappointment and just another task that you must carry alone. Maybe it feels like a betrayal to him to celebrate at all.
If you are in season of separation from your spouse this Christmas, join me in shifting your perspective to see these silent nights as an invitation from God to draw near to Him. The angel said the Savior that was born would bring peace and goodwill that holy night 2000 years ago, and I’m pretty sure that includes the spaces in your heart as well. Let’s receive His unmatchable gift of peace as we rest in the quiet of His great love.