I have a confession to make. One of my favorite things about the holiday season is sitting down with a cup of hot tea and a cozy blanket…and, of course, watching the Hallmark channel. I’ve always loved those sappy, Christmas-themed RomComs they play throughout the holiday season. I can’t help it; I just get sucked in. (Surely, I’m not the only one!?)

But this year, as I’ve watched countless Hallmark Christmas movies (to the dismay of my patient husband), I’ve realized something more than ever before: life is nothing like a Hallmark movie. And it’s easy to feel like it should be.

I often feel like the main character of one of those sweet movies-you know, the young woman who’s waiting for that big promotion, the single mom who dreams of love again, the young man whose family misunderstands him, the little girl who dreams of the perfect Christmas. I’m not saying that I’m in any of those exact situations, but often in life I feel like I am waiting for “my moment.” I’m waiting for something amazing to happen and miraculously change my life for the better. Something that will remove the stress, make all my dreams come true and usher me into my Happily Ever After.

But life is not like that, and I can’t sit around waiting for my life to become as dreamy as a Hallmark movie.

Real life is messy. Family is messy. Marriages are messy. Jobs are messy. Everything we do and everything we are is infinitely imperfect. But everything we do and everything we are – so long as we trust in Christ – is forever propelling us forward into becoming more and more like the Son, which is God’s purpose for all of our lives.

The truth is that God allows hard things to happen. He lets us lose our jobs, get our hearts broken, have our bodies fail us. But it is not for a lack of love. It is because he DOES love us that he lets those things happen. And he wants to draw us closer to himself.

There is a purpose and a reason for my struggle. For your struggle. Maybe we can’t see it now, and maybe we will never see the whole picture. But God does. He sees it all, and he’s beckoning us to surrender our lives and trust in him.

If you’re struggling to trust God this holiday season, if you’re waiting for “your moment,” if you can’t see the purpose in your hardships, I would encourage you to leave a comment below. You don’t have to tell me what your struggle is (unless you want to!), but by letting me know that you are struggling in some way, I can pray for you. And we can both know that we’re not alone. ❤️

“I trust in God’s faithful love forever and ever. I will praise you forever for what you have done. In the presence of your faithful people, I will put my hope in your name, for it is good.” Psalm 52:8-9

Lastly, please know that I am not dissing the Hallmark Channel in any way. I will always love their movies and shows (any other #Hearties out there?!) My advice is not to quit watching Hallmark, but I do think we need to make sure we are staying in touch with reality as with any other movies or shows!

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