Thought for the Week: At Christmas God can be our refuge

In the weeks coming up to Christmas we realised that Christmas was going to be different that year.

There were tears when my dad and our extended family sat down at the table on Christmas Day.

Perhaps, the comfort was that my mother would not have wanted us, especially her grandchildren, to have a gloomy Christmas; above all other things, she was a Christian.

However, as time has passed and other members of our family have died, I have become acutely aware of how difficult Christmas is for a grieving family.My advice is that if you have a friend who has lost a loved one this year, if appropriate, call to see them or make a phone call.

Having been a church minister for over 50 years, I try to make contact with the recently bereaved in the days leading up to Christmas.

"What are you doing for Christmas?," I ask. Sometimes, they tell me they are doing something different to change the pattern.

It's helpful for them to feel that their loved one would not want their family to be morbid and sometimes reminiscing about the person at Christmas is therapeutic, bringing both tears and laughter.Most important is never to minimise the reality of grief.

To suggest to someone that time will heal, or that they need to get over it, is insensitive in the extreme.

To grieve the death of someone you love is natural. We don't get over the loss, but eventually, we may adjust.

Words quoted by our late Queen are timely: "Grief is the price we pay for love".The best news is that God came to Bethlehem in the Person of Jesus Christ.

He remains our Comforter in this life, and if we fully trust Him, He will be our hope beyond death into eternal life.Corrie ten Boom, the remarkable Nazi death camp survivor, once wrote: "Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God."