Hope for Those Struggling this Christmas
“Christmas blues” affect many around the holidays, exposing the pain from previous tragedies or simply feelings of loneliness or desolation that seem to take over life’s experience. In her new book Stars at Night, psychotherapist Paula D’Arcy says those feelings won’t have the last word, that hope and happiness are achievable, if only the small glimmers of light can be recognized.
D’Arcy was only twenty-seven when a drunk driver killed her husband and young daughter. But in the midst of her crushing despair, and to her utter amazement, she discovered a presence within herself that responded to her fearful cries for help.
Paula says that her anguish and pain were met with a great tenderness, which she has since recognized as transcendent love. Over time—knowing that pain did not have the final say and did not have absolute power—she was able to find her way back to the light.
“God comes to you disguised as your life,” D’Arcy said. “Even in darkness, there is a lifeline back to the light.”
At some point in life, D’Arcy says, most people find themselves experiencing a “dark night,” and the feeling of being blindsided by life, disoriented, lost and alone is common along the human journey.
Whether you’re dealing with the loss of loved ones through physical death, loss of job, the pain of divorce, or the realities of aging, these things all have the ability to alter the way we look at ourselves and the way we think about life’s journey, she says.
Stars at Night is Paula’s own story and contains profound words of wisdom to help overcome pain, loss or depression by identifying the small glimmers of light in your own darkness and allowing the dawn to come.
Paula D’Arcy, a writer, retreat leader, and conference and seminar speaker, travels widely in the United States, Canada, and abroad. She is also President of Red Bird Foundation, which supports the growth and spiritual development of those in need as well as those invested in the opening of the heart and the healing of this world.
(Source: Christian Newswire)