What if Christmas is hard?

If there's one thing I learned from the embarrassing amount of Christmas movies I have consumed in the past month or so, it's this: Christmas is a time of miracles, of reconciliation, and of merry making. There is just something about this time of the year that makes everything reset and shift, a moment in time where everything is forgotten or at least blanketed by never ending celebrations and literally wrapping paper.

And while I do believe in the symbolism of Christmas and Christ's love, I can't help but also acknowledge the opposite end of the spectrum, which is the reality that Christmas can be both joyful and painful at the same time.