Christmas can be a hard time of year for some. For even as happiness may surround them, there may be an empty void inside of them. Though they may not have forgotten how to smile, there’s still a longing for that empty seat at Christmas time. We can find some solace for those that believed though. For we know, though we can’t share our Christmas joy here with them, our loved ones will have eternal joy in heaven. As some of us are reminded of our loss at Christmas time, may we be reminded of the joy our loved ones who passed, get to experience with God. That when their eyes open again, they then will only know true joy. So, though there is an empty seat earth side, where they are missed, there is a different sense of joy. For we know as we celebrate Christmas here, when they awake, they get to be with the one in heaven in which we celebrate.

Erin Fitts-Brower 

1 Thessalonians 4:13 NIV

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.