(Photo by Selma Komisky)

Editor’s Note: Holiday, 2019

By Sarah Komisky

Have you ever needed a new perspective for the holidays? I have. Sometimes it can feel like yuletide cheer can get severed when your way too busy than you should be, sick, facing loss, heartbreak, or overwhelmed in financial deficits. In these places we can feel just like the Grinch when all the festivities can sound like “noise, noise, noise.” When real life hits us hard, we feel like turning down the volume. Celebrating seems like an impossibility. In fact, in a particularly hard place, as I saw the season coming in like a tide, I felt the anxiety well up inside me feeling like I wasn’t capable of living up the place I felt I needed to be for Christmas.

Now, I am no Scrooge. I love the holidays. I love the music. The food. The togetherness. Rudolph, Hermey, and the Abominable Snowman (AKA Bumble). But at this particular moment, I felt pressured to conjure up holiday hype and the commercial background noise was a little like too many bright LED lights. I just wanted to tune it out.

Yet, in that moment, God reminded me that I didn’t have to live up to a certain idea or expectation I felt was the “norm” for the holiday season. In fact, God reminded me that real life was not always merry, I wasn’t expected to conjure up something synthetic, and my schedule doesn’t have to be jammed back to be a great holiday season. In fact, I learned God is real. God is the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace who came to be Immanuel – God with us. Now that gives reason to celebrate!

My friend, the holidays are what you make of it and beauty can be found right there. Whether in a hospital room or your living room. Whether your single or in a relationship. Whether you have money to buy gifts or not. The holidays can be beautiful when you embrace your real life as it and discover the beauty that can be found right there. Perspective. It can change everything.

That is why this holiday issue is dedicated to doing just that. We are offering you a new perspective on the season. It’s kind of like those unicorn, yeti, or gnome holiday decorations. They might seem a little odd to some at the beginning, but after they become cute and quirky. That’s what this new issue is kind of like as we are showing some new angles of the holidays. The obscure, the eclectic, and the unconventional in hopes you can glean something new and beautiful.

In our holiday issue, we’re inviting a few friends like the amazing world changers Grace Anna and Angela Ray Rogers that remind us of the beauty of embracing differences. We’re hearing what’s going on the other side of the globe in Cyprus with our missionary friend Jonathan Doub and adopting his fam to give an extra special unexpected gift (donate here). We’re also sharing our holiday playlist from the soulful Miss Bethany Cruz as our showcase interview guest to our Reach Records hip-hop holiday album review. We’re also going to talk about ways we can giveback this season, offer ways to practice presence with God and others. If you have dietary restrictions, we are showing you ways you can still enjoy yummy holiday food! And, we’re going to have some fun by giving you our best ugly sweater picks this year, talking about lessons gleaned from Nutcracker and the Four Realms, and enjoying some festive fun workouts from our friends at REFIT®️ Revolution. Lastly, for the new year, we’re offering party ideas as well as a personal story on how to keep the joy all year long.

So, we’re inviting you to join us right where you’re at to enjoy our holiday issue. May it inspire you to gain a new perspective that will be meaningful this holiday season.

Overall, we hope you celebrate. We hope you discover and elevate Jesus. We hope you find joy. May it be purposeful. May it take you to a new vantage point and may it be beautiful.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Sarah