“You know what,” Smith encouraged, “that’s a normal feeling.”
Smith continued, “And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it. In fact, no one would blame you for that. There are so many—millions of people—this Christmas, right now, thinking this. And I’ve talked to a lot of them.”
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“So the message is, first of all, we hear you. You’re not alone. There is joy on the other side of this. You will not feel this way every Christmas from now on,” Smith said. “You will one day smile and open up a gift from your spouse and say, ‘Grandpa would have loved this, because Grandpa loved Christmas so much.’ And you’ll smile instead of cry.”
“The other side of that coin is, this Christmas, someone experiencing loss might accidentally smile and instantly feel guilt for that,” Smith went on to say. “‘How could you smile? How do you dare smile when your grandpa’s gone, and he loved us, and he taught you everything you know about Christmas? How could you smile without him here?’ And that is a lie from the enemy. That guilt is a thief. It’s coming in to steal your joy, when the reality is joy and grief can coexist at the same time.”
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“There’s nothing wrong with crying or laughing or smiling this holiday season with whatever you’re going through,” Smith said.
