{"id":215,"date":"2019-12-16T13:03:59","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T18:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/seminary\/?p=215"},"modified":"2019-12-16T13:39:34","modified_gmt":"2019-12-16T18:39:34","slug":"hole-in-the-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/seminary\/hole-in-the-holidays\/","title":{"rendered":"Hole in the Holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Word from Dr. Brent Aucoin, FBS President: <\/strong>Merry Christmas! I\u2019d like to especially encourage those who have been touched by a death this year. As you may remember my mother died unexpectedly this past May.<\/span><\/p>\n

To Those Touched by a Death This Year<\/span><\/h3>\n

My normal Christmas decision of whether to travel back home to Oklahoma has been made for me.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"No, I will not travel to Oklahoma. Mom is not there. I brought Mom\u2019s Christmas tree to Lafayette from Oklahoma and now it stands in place of ours this Christmas.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you look closely at the Christmas tree to the right, at the 11:00 position just above\u00a0and to the left of the only bright pink ornament, you can see a light blue Elvis on the very light blue tree. Mom loved Elvis and light blue.<\/span><\/p>\n

My sister will travel to Indiana this coming week to visit us and she will pick some of her favorite ornaments from mom\u2019s tree. Perhaps she will take Elvis\u00a0with his blue suede shoes :).<\/span><\/p>\n

Still a Hole in the Holidays\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

While I expect a blessed time with my sister and church family this Christmas, there is still a hole in the holidays. There is an element of sadness amidst the joyous celebration. It takes conscious effort to remember why Christmas is \u201cmerry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet, I suppose every day, in the sin-cursed world around us, we must intentionally choose to remember the accomplishment of Christ\u2019s incarnation and His subsequent work on the cross.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just at Christmas time, but every day should be tinged with sadness because of death all around as we wait for the fullness of joy when Christ returns and wipes away every tear.<\/span><\/p>\n

Christ\u2019s Healing Hope in the Midst of Our Sadness and Grief\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

The only holes on that day will be in the side and hands of Christ. The only scars will be on Him and not us.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you have been touched by death this year in some way, you are probably like me\u2014your loved one\u2019s absence is felt on a regular basis. Moments of grief wash over you at expected and unexpected times.<\/span><\/p>\n

I will pray for you as I pray for me and my family as well. My prayer will be that we use the occasion of Christ\u2019s first coming to develop a deepening desire for His second coming that wipes away all tears. And, as God gives us life on this earth, I pray we would immerse ourselves not in grief, but in imparting the grace of God to others so that they too might have hope amidst an existence touched by the sting of death (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).<\/span><\/p>\n

Only in heaven will the holes be completely filled, but we can certainly help one another with the present emptiness to indeed have a \u201cMerry\u201d Christmas as we wait.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Word from Dr. Brent Aucoin, FBS President: Merry Christmas! I\u2019d like to especially encourage those who have been touched by a death this year. As you may remember my mother died unexpectedly this past May. To Those Touched by a Death This Year My normal Christmas decision of whether to travel back home to… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4500,5203],"tags":[4500,5203,5251],"yoast_head":"\nHole in the Holidays - Faith Bible Seminary Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/seminary\/hole-in-the-holidays\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hole in the Holidays - Faith Bible Seminary Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Word from Dr. Brent Aucoin, FBS President: Merry Christmas! 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