Precisely on November 3, my roommates started decorating for Christmas, and this was only after I told them that they could not decorate before Halloween. For someone like me who is not a big fan of holiday decorations, and someone whose family decorated for Christmas only after Thanksgiving and took all decorations down by January 5, I felt like this was a very generous offer to let them start decorating at the beginning of November. I’ll be the first person to admit that I don’t love holidays. Even though I know that they have a good meaning. I feel this weird pressure to celebrate and make this day special, and if it is not special it feels almost like a failure. Truthfully, I enjoy the anticipation more than the real day.

All of these decorations got me thinking about things, specifically the Christmas wreath that is currently on our door which I see every time I leave and enter our home. After doing a little research, I found out that wreaths were originally connected to the celebration of Yule, the winter solstice. They were later adopted by Christians as a symbol during advent, and now they have also simply become popular decorations. Advent for Christian is the time leading up to Christmas in expectation of Jesus’ birth. Each week it is a tradition to light different candles with the advent wreath, and there are four candles that symbolize hope, faith, joy, and peace. (we will talk about these attributes in weeks to come).

Another interesting fact about wreaths is, since the beginning of their history they have been made out of evergreen needles and branches. Evergreens symbolize strength and survival in hardship. They thrive and get past the winter season better than they were before, and sometimes they even bear fruit in the winter months. Evergreens turn the hardship of winter into opportunities. Even when looking up the color green, the color itself symbolizes immortality, new beginnings, flourishing, and restoration. Like evergreens, I believe that we humans were created with the tools and abilities to survive adverse conditions, whether they be the literal harsh winter months that we experience in Summit County or the figurative months of struggle and internal barrenness.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

Whose trust is the Lord.

He is like a tree planted by water,

That sends out its roots by the stream,

And does not fear when heat comes,

for its leaves remain green,

and is not anxious in the year of drought,

for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8

Friends, I feel like I am in a season of drought, an internal barrenness, and soul-searching time. Fear and anxiousness have reared their “ugly head” in my life more so in the past year than previously before. Like these verses in Jeremiah and a decorative wreath made of evergreens, I have been challenged to remember that I can survive this time of hardship and trust that there will be opportunities from it. I do not need to fear what is to come, I do not need to be anxious about my pursuits, but if I trust God in the season, and trust the tools and strength that he has given me, I will still bear fruit, growing and learning in this season.

As I see the wreath on my door whenever I enter or exit my home, I am reminded that this is a season of anticipation and awaiting with hope, faith, joy, and peace. Like the evergreen, we will get through this season, maybe even bear fruit amidst the season, and come out of it better than before.

In this time when holidays look different than they ever did before, and some families and friends will not be gathering. Remember that you are not alone. If you would like to talk to someone or have a mini holiday celebration of some sort, let us know. We at SCY are here for you. We care for you and want to walk through this season with you.