unresolved & displaced

How is it possible to celebrate when conflict remains unresolved, or you're dealing with a sense of feeling displaced?

Christmas is no doubt typified by overlooking differences, and bringing family together, but what if conflict is so sharp it feels hypocritical to "carry on" without seeking swift resolution? ... or if there are circumstances beyond your control where you're not where you intended to be - not among family in the way you hoped?  Unresolved and Displaced.

In reflecting on this through a couple of realities I'm facing this Christmas, the scenario began to sound strangely familiar -  it was into the picture of unresolved conflict among the people of Israel (indeed the whole of Creation), and into the family unit of a young couple displaced from their home where "God with us" entered.

My hope this Christmas is that the Christ will again enter into unresolved conflict and displacement, and, as He is capable of doing, brings healing and transformation in a way I never expected.

Come to think of it, a long gaze into the unassuming eyes of God the Son can again bring perspective in the context of feeling unresolved and displaced.

That's not a bad cause for celebration!