It was John Wesley who famously said of Christians in his era “our people die well”.  Presumably they died strong in the faith, with an understanding that this life is not all there is, or all that matters, and with hope in the glorious future that awaits in Christ beyond the grave.

Could the same be said of Christians in the 21^st century? How do we cope with suffering in general, let alone death? Do we suffer and die ‘well’?

In the first chapter of his challenging book ‘Suffering Well’ author Paul Grimmond states his case: when it comes to suffering we are prisoners of our age who have “lost touch with biblical truth because of the constant hum of worldly thinking that swirls around in our heads

Sometimes life is just not fair.

Bad things happen to good people.

Unexpected tragedies take place.

Dreams are destroyed.

Loved one’s walk away.

Or that one thing you’ve been waiting for never comes.

And we find ourselves standing at a crossroad with two roads in front of us that we can choose to travel.

One road is disappointment and despair.

The other road is healing and hope.

Each one of us has the power to choose which one we will take.

When darkness closes in.

When people walk out.

When dreams are shattered.

When all hope seems lost.

Just yesterday I felt like something I longed for was taken away.

Something I’ve been praying for.

Something I’ve been setting my hopes up for.

And more than anything all I wanted to do was hide myself from the world and cry.

I wanted to throw my hands up to the sky…

I’m taking a little deviation from our ‘A-Z of inspiring women’ series, as it seems only fitting on Christmas Eve to give you the low-down on the man about to slide down your chimney. As you dust off your stockings and prepare milk and cookies for jolly red man, ponder on his journey to be one of the most recognised characters in the world.

Santa starts his many incarnations as Saint Nicholas- a 4th-century Greek bishop living in Byzantium (modern-day Turkey). He is credited with many miracles, hence his sainthood, but is remembered most for his generosity. Throughout his life he helped those downtrodden by life, giving away money and presents to those in need.

He died on December 6th, 343 AD, and traditionally his saint’s day is commemorated by gift-giving on that day.

The Dutch name for Saint Nick- ‘Sinter Klaas’ is the origin of our corruption to ‘Santa…

“This Gospel anticipates a world far different from C.S. Lewis’s Narnia,where it is “always winter, and never Christmas.” But the promise of the Gospel is that it is always Christmas. To be “in Christ” is to enjoy each morning as a Christmas morning with the family of God, celebrating the gift of God around the tree of life.”

–Kevin Van Hoozer

Christmas can be a torment and tribulation for so many. I have no doubt it brings grief. Family, friends, finances– mixed liberally with heavy doses of materialism and manipulation will always bring us issues.  The music and decorations are mostly mere Novocaine (which doesn’t always work). Stress builds up. And we want none of that.

Being mentally or physically ill often accentuates these issues. I’m not sure why exactly, but suicide increases during this season. Perhaps the challenges Christmas brings just overwhelm a person who is struggling…

There was this thread in the weave of Psalm Nineteen. I pulled on it.

This is what happened.

David, King of Judah, wrote Psalm Nineteen.

He wrote about the way creation clearly and constantly reveals the glory of God.

He wrote about the way the sun reaches into every part of the world with its light and warmth.

He wrote about the Law of the LORD, the Word of God, that the sun is like; the way it revives our lives and brings us wisdom and joy and light for living (not only light to see our way but it puts a sparkle in our eye as well); the way it adds taste to our lives (a rare taste – as rare as truly sweet things were in David’s world); the way it is ‘sure’ and ‘true’, reliable and certain and lasts forever.

Whenever he thought about God’s Word…