The loss of a loved one is never an easy thing, but many learn that some days can be better than others. The holiday season does not always bring out those easier days. This time of year is full of joy and excitement but when someone you love is gone, that bit of agony lingers in the back of your heart.

No one should ever feel like they need to defeat that agony. It is perfectly okay to miss them! It is especially okay to miss them in the bedlam of these holiday moments. When your whole family is together, only one person is missing from the picture. There was one less dish that had to be set at the table. There was one less gift to buy and one less stocking was hung. Their absence is everywhere and that is agonizing. Sometimes as family comes flooding in and out it’s easy to believe that one of these times, they will enter too. All their love and smiles would fill the room and add to the magic of the season. The only place they can enter now is in your dreams, and my Christmas wish for you is that you get to see them there.

What is important is not to let it consume you. Let the agony live in the back of your heart where it belongs but realize that there is still joy, and your angel above would want you to feel that. Embrace all the loved ones you have around you when you feel yourself longing for the one who is gone. Many believe it's the happiest time of year, while others feel it to be the toughest. No matter where you stand, I hope you can enjoy your holiday. Remember the happiness your angel used to bring to Christmas? Do the things they loved the most knowing that their spirit is celebrating through you.

I know right now you are missing them more than ever, but it’s in these times when they are sending all their love straight to your heart. Don't just work to get through the holidays, strive to enjoy them. Christmas may never feel exactly as it was but that is okay. It is impossible to expect it to go back to normal when someone is missing, and you know they'll never return. So as you balance your overwhelming emotions somewhere between bliss and sorrow, just know you are not alone. So many of us are sharing the same struggles this season. My dear readers, I pray for you to have a merry Christmas.