Christmas – A Time of Healing
- Vernita "Neat" Simmons
- Dec 23, 2019
- 5 min read
Updated: 5 hours ago
The Christmas holiday days are a time of joy and excitement for many. You prepare with cheer and delight as you trim the tree. There may be lights galore in and outside the house. The centerpiece is radiant. Angelic songs fill the home with peace and love. Even shopping for gifts is fun. However, for some, this highlights the remembrance of an incident that left them in pain. This could have been due to the death of a loved one. Maybe you experienced a divorce. Whatever it is, when the person responsible for such stress and pain is a close relative, it makes this even harder to cope with. So, the story I am sharing this Christmas is inspired by one of my favorite shows, Heartland.
In their first holiday movie, Heartland, A CBC family series, presents A Heartland Christmas. We see how the pain of the past can prevent hearts from being healed and relationships restored if everyone does not forgive. Ty receives a message about starving horses abandoned after an avalanche in the Rocky Mountains. Of course, Amy (Amber Marshall) insists on going with Ty (Graham Wardle), though Jack (Shaun Johnston) objects; still, he allows her to go. They find the horses and come up with a plan to rescue them. Still, they would need help from the community.
It is a tight-knit community in Pike River where old wounds have not forgotten the past. Likewise, it is difficult to find willing hearts to help, except for young Sam Hawke (Matthew Knight), who called in the incident. His mother, Joanna (Helene Joy), owns the Bar & Grill Restaurant and is against her son having anything to do with helping the stranded horses. And to make matters worse, her father, Will Vernon (Nicholas Campbell), owns the horses. And he is not about to lift a finger to help. Soon, Jack and Tim (Chris Potter) arrive in Pike River and decide to help Ty and Amy.
In the meantime, Amy tells Jack that Will Vernon held a rifle on her and Ty and made them leave the area where the horses are stranded. Besides, he owns that property, and they are trespassing. Though Jack and Will are old rodeo buddies, Jack will not allow this to go without confronting Will. He talks with Will, but still, Will has too much anger and guilt and will not accept their offer to help the horses. Jack couldn't care less about this and does what the Barkletts always do when family or horses need rescue and recovery.
In their efforts to dig a trench, they realize this requires the community to get involved. They go to The Bar & Grill. Jack, as always, with his wisdom and charismatic demeanor, speaks to the people. Over time, they discover that five years ago, four men died in an avalanche in that same place, including Joanna’s husband. Likewise, the only survivor was responsible for them being there at the time of that awful incident.
Like this movie, when wounded hearts hold on to pain and anger, it hinders relationships from thriving. Before you realize it, you’ve gone years without speaking. This glorious occasion is no longer a time of rejoicing and celebration. It’s become a time of sorrow, despair, and discouragement. Your heart has grown hardened and callous. This also affects your relationships with others. You’re stuck at that moment and won’t move forward.
To overcome this, each person has to take responsibility for their contribution and forgive. Maybe you reached out to reconcile, but it didn’t bring healing. The offender finds it difficult to try to repair the relationship. “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit.” (Psalms 51:12, AMP). Anger and bitterness have gone from simmering to dominating their life. They either affix blame or blame themselves. So, they stay distant and angry.
In the meantime, this isolates you from someone you love and who is dear to your heart. This incident is like an infection. You were once inseparable. Now one terrible event has torn your family apart. You’re both suffering from two incredible losses. One is through the physical death of something you held dear. The other is due to the silence of the heart.
God, in His infinite wisdom and love for humanity, allows an unlikely occurrence to happen that could bring healing and restoration. He summons people who offer sound counsel and help to bring hearts together. “This is My commandment, that you love and unselfishly seek the best for one another, just as I have loved you.” (John 15:12).
Some are strangers. Others are those you haven’t seen in some time. They need some service that you and the person you are angry with can provide. It will help mend broken hearts. The first step is to set pride aside, and seize another chance, and forgive. Then you allow their words of compassion and kindness to penetrate your heart, and God’s grace overrules. What you’ve longed for years happens. Someone’s eyes open, and their hearts are receptive.
Christmas is all about this. The birth of Jesus secures salvation in the most perplexing situations. It generates joy for sorrow. This Baby Jesus turns discouragement into encouragement. He replaces torment with unsurpassed peace. Beloved, this Christmas season, do not let it pass without forgiving and reconciling. Defeat the devil and no longer allow him to separate you from those you love. It does not matter who makes the first move. Someone has to represent the bigger person. The plan and purpose God has for your family are at stake. It is worth the effort for a new beginning. Beloved, permit God to heal you and become the family God created you to be. Have a jubilant Merry Christmas. (Matthew 5:23-24).
A Prayer of Reconciliation
Lord, You long to bring us into a good fellowship with each other. Thank You for being the mediator between God and humanity, who has the power to reconcile and bring life back to any relationship. I admit this is a challenging time in this relationship. Though I love my family, I am overwhelmed with despair and held hostage in the wall of separation and alienation.
Father, I approach Your throne and ask You to show me what I must do to help restore this relationship. Reveal to me, my role in Your plan and the purpose You have for our family. I will no longer let my pride and stubbornness overrule being compassionate. I forgive, so Your grace and mercy extinguish anger, bitterness, and resentment. Please give me Your love to dethrone my unbelief so we can walk in unity and a new season.
Scriptures: 1 Timothy 2:5: Hebrew 4:16; Matthew 5:23-24; Ephesians 4:1-3; 4:31-32; Colossians 3:13
Enjoy this delightful musical selection: Reconciliation Song by Morris Chapman.
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