When most of us celebrate Christmas, we often have feelings of tenderness and joy. Even if we had a rough childhood, with a dysfunctional family we can still reflect on Christmas as a special and wonderful time. There’s something about the story of God loving us and sending Jesus that warms us.

For me, my family was anything but normal. Yelling and arguments were the norm so much so that my friends rarely came to my house to play because of my parents. Yet when Christmas came around, my heart would rise with an expectation that something good was coming. I know part of it was wrapped around presents, but it was more than that. I felt God was trying to communicate with me more during that season than at any other time of year. Maybe it was all the Christmas music, maybe it was all the decorations or maybe it really was God trying to get through to me that He was there and He cared about me personally.

Christmas can be a very difficult time of the year for many because once the decorations are all put away, our expectations of good can be overshadowed by the feeling that this was just a fantasy.