This past week was a rough one. Abbey was having a tough time with an upswing in agitation and behaviors and her typical fixation with food became even further heightened. In trying to quell her agitation we had trialed a new supplement, meant to help calm, but which unfortunately only compounded the problem by increasing her appetite and drive toward food. We took her off the new supplement, but not before first dealing with a week of screaming and hitting and unpredictability, the likes of which we hadn’t seen in quite some time. She was clearly also dealing with allot of anxiety, which was likely the cause of the agitation in the first place, but we could not figure out the root of the anxiety. We took her to see a doctor in case there could be something physical going on, like an ear infection or a UTI. Over 2 consecutive days of office visits they did several tests: blood, urine, etc., and of course found nothing! Par for the course with our Abbey. Whatever the cause, it was absolutely not a fun week for her or for us. Oh, and just for funzies, she also began her period. This week totally rocked!

This along with several other major stressors in our life like my mom’s declining health due to Dementia and Parkinsonian Syndrome, financial strains due to a year and a half delay in Abbey’s retroactive SSI coverage, and the exponential missing of Eric’s mom during the holidays due to her passing only a few short years ago, has led to a heavy weight on our hearts of late.

You, may like us, be feeling burdened by the weight of it all right now. It’s Christmas time, a time for everything merry and bright, but you find that your heart is aching over many difficult and heavy things. As parents of children with special needs the holidays are often not easy. Your child may have a medically fragile diagnosis and so you find yourself in a hospital once again sitting by their bedside at this time. Your extended family may not understand your child’s Autism diagnosis or show the kind of loving support that is so needed during times of holiday sensory overwhelm. Instead of the holiday parties and other festive activities that you wish for, your schedule may be full of therapies, IEP battles, and medical appointments. It all may just feel heavy and hard right now.

One of my favorite Christmas songs is “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”. It’s a classic and I love it because it brings back so many good memories from childhood Christmas’s filled with the soundtrack of an era gone by with singers like Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, and many others of my grandparent’s generation. So, on a weekend that felt particularly tough, Eric and I drove with Abbey over to the coast (our happy place) listening to this beloved soundtrack all the way, hoping to capture a little of that Christmas cheer we’d been missing. Then it happened of course, my favorite song began playing, and as I sat there listening something struck me in a way that it hadn’t before. A line in this famous song suddenly resonated deep within me. It was the line that goes, “Let your heart be light”.

Let your heart be light – what a beautifully simple line. However, I knew that this line wasn’t as simple as it first appears. You see this song was originally written in 1943 during World War 2, and it was hardly a simple time for those living back then. Families struggled with loved ones off at war and soldiers ached for the comforts of family and home as they fought battles, even during Christmas time, for our collective freedoms around the world.

So the question is how can we let our hearts be light at Christmas time when we are in times of struggle like these? When wars rage on, when we miss a loved one, or when our children and our families struggle due to medical crisis and disability? How do we let go of the burdens weighing us down and let our hearts be light? Is it even possible? The answer comes not in a song sung by the amazing crooners of long ago, but in the one who came to save us long ago. Jesus is the answer. For He himself is the light of the world. It is his birth that we celebrate each year at Christmas, remembering the light that came into the world in the form of a little baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger in a town called Bethlehem.

Jesus came to be our “Immanuel”, God with us, so that he could make a way for us. And he came to take our burdens. So, this Christmas, if your heart is heavy just ours have been, take a moment along with us to remember the one who is the reason for the season, and cast your burdens on him. Our Immanuel. The light of the world.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” John 8:12