Thank you for sharing your ongoing testimony, Pastor Mike, so bravely and starkly. It is a comfort to those of us who have our own to tell, or our own story that we are still living out. Last Christmas was the most horrible day of the year for me, too, for very different reasons, however I think the important take away for ALL of us in these stories is that the holidays can be especially devastating for those going through “something.”
This year, while we celebrate and enjoy the season, and if we are FORTUNATE enough to have friends and family, our basic needs met and a hope for the future, we MUST remember those without hope who are struggling to make it through this Christmas when God seems far and the hope of a newborn in a manager seems out of our grasp. My prayer is that God puts those people in our paths and shows us who needs our compassion, our comfort and our ability to underline God’s promises! His Christmas Facebook post is below.
Mike Lee: What a difference a year makes. A year ago at Christmas, I was as low as a human can possibly be. Because of decisions I had made, my world came crashing down around me. I lost everything: my family, my friends, my job, my reputation, my security, my self-respect. I had destroyed every important thing in my life. There’s an old saying, “If you have your health you have everything,” but I had lost that too as I was in a battle with cancer. To make matters worse, it was Christmas. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Christmas. I love giving gifts. I love decorating the yard to the point that you can see it from space. I love the parties and the good cheer. I loved doing all of the Christmas Eve services at church. No matter how many services we did, it was never enough. The more, the merrier. Last year there was none of that. It was life at its worst. I woke up on Christmas morning in a one bedroom apartment all alone. What few friends I had were busy with their own families. There were no Christmas Eve services. There were no gifts. There were no parties. There was no place where I was welcome. To add to my woes, I spent a good part of Christmas day in the emergency room due to complications of my cancer. On that day, I fought off the darkest thoughts I had ever had in my life. They were thoughts that I didn’t know that I was even capable of having. Solomon nailed it when he said, “The way of the transgressor is hard.” On Christmas Day, 2022, I was ready to grab a bottle of bourbon and pull my car into the garage, close door and end it all…but God. Don’t get me wrong, things didn’t change over night, but over this past year I have experienced the faithfulness of God like few people will ever experience it. I learned firsthand that when I am at my worst, God is at His best. Don’t just read those words; let them sink in. It was through all the mess and chaos that I had brought on myself that God showed up in ways I never dreamed possible. It’s why I chronicled the journey in my book, Death by Church; Life Through Christ. I can attest to the fact that there is hope for the hopeless. Whatever situation you find yourself in this Christmas God has not forsaken you; He has not given up on you; He is not finished with you. He is drawing near to you even if you have drawn away from Him. He is leaning into you even if you are leaning away from Him. He has a plan for you. He has a future with your name on it. It may be different than what you had planed but maybe that’s a good thing. I promise you this: If God is in it, it will be your best life because it’s His best life for you. God gave us a Savior that first Christmas, not just to save us for eternity, but to save us now. Let Him rescue you. It’s His specialty. Merry Christmas