While “home for the holidays” usually means it’s a family affair, it doesn’t always mean the gift of peace will be present. This Christmas season, Pastors Venshard Dobbins and Drew Castillo join us with their wives for a timely and thoughtful conversation centered on navigating family dynamics and managing grief during a time when relationships often are tested and tensions run high.
“Grief is not a sprint; it’s a marathon,” shares Lady Christine Dobbins. “My mom has been deceased since 1987, but there might be a day or a trigger that reminds me that I need and I want the comfort that only a mother can give. Whatever those triggers are for you, [they] get intensified around the holidays because of the stress and pressure to keep a tradition going — and maybe you weren’t equipped to keep the tradition going.
“If you’re dealing with the weight of grief and the anxiety the holidays bring, I tell people to create new traditions. Find something new to memorialize or remember those who you love and then begin to build from there.”
Watch “Home for the Holidays” and let us know how you’re navigating this holiday season. Ultimately, by exemplifying the love of Jesus Christ in our own homes, we can come to better know the true joy and reason for the season. Together.