Is All truly Well?

One of my favorite Christmas songs is “All is Well” by Michael W. Smith. *Point of Grace’s version is, in my opinion, the BEST. 

Take a look at the lyrics:

All is well all is well
Angels and men rejoice
For tonight darkness fell
Into the dawn of love’s light
Sing Ale
Sing Alleluia
All is well all is well
Let there be peace on earth
Christ has come, go and tell
That He is in the manger
Sing Ale
Sing Alleluia
All is well all is well
Lift up your voices and sing
Born is now Emmanuel
Born is our Lord and Savior
Sing Alleluia
Sing Alleluia
All is well
Born is now Emmanuel
Born is our Lord and Savior
Sing Alleluia
Sing Alleluia
All is well

I love the simplicity of this song. The build of lyrics and orchestration highlight the essential part of this season: Jesus Christ’s birth. While this song hits me in the feels, I can’t help but ask… Is all well with you? Because all is not well with me lately. I am plagued by unease that I cannot tame. 

I’ve been avoiding God. I’ve been avoiding my inner struggle in an outward attempt to keep up with the life I want.

The Christmas season exacerbates this issue. I’m sure you know what I mean. I’m sure you have your own version of trying to “keep up” in this season. And if you don’t now, you have either lived through your own version or will live through it soon enough. 

I’ve been buying various gifts since August to *affordably* cover everyone on our list. I’ve worked hard to purge our home of extra things only to prepare it again for new things to take their place.

I’ve also been working hard to make some gifts that I think will be loved, but my deadline is fast approaching and I don’t have them complete. It feels like sickness waited until December to hit our house this year. I was so proud to have these gifts planned (and I will still complete them), but I am so bummed that I won’t be able to finish them all for Christmas. 

I’m not only talking about the material things here. While, yes, I desire to please our family with thoughtful gifts, I’m honestly struggling with feeling fake this year; as if I’m going through the motions of Christmas. 

Who am I to teach my son to be grateful for what we have when I keep buying more for everyone?

Who am I to lead worship on Sundays when sometimes all I have are the right notes and words to sing?

Who am I to teach my son about Jesus when I don’t always act as if I know Jesus myself?

Who am I to hear our friend’s struggles when I’m selfishly waiting to tell my own struggles?

Perhaps you’re like me, being reminded of your shortcomings in this season (this year, really). Or perhaps you’re also like me, heartbroken by broken relationships in your family… or maybe your anxieties come from all the other stressors this season brings: extra social gatherings, money you don’t have for all the things, conversations you don’t want to have, or simply unmet expectations. 

But what I realized today is that I am missing the BEST part of this song: 

Emmanuel. 

God with us. 

How could I forget that “God with us” not only applies to the happy, feeling-close-to-God seasons? 

Emmanuel is a fact. God literally came to the earth as Jesus to experience life, with all its issues, heartaches, and expectations. 

Emmanuel is the example. Jesus lived the perfect life to show us how impossible it is for us to attain perfection… while also offering us access to God.

Emmanuel is the path. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. We cannot make our way to eternity in Heaven without Him. We are flawed human beings who need a Savior. 

Emmanuel is a promise. God with us is not only for the mountaintop experiences. God with us is for the lows in life, the times you question your very purpose. When the pressures of life seem to be too much. The times you doubt… the times you have no words to express your pain. 

My glimmer of hope, however faint it may be in the moment, is that Jesus is Emmanuel. Jesus is with me. He is big enough to handle my doubt. He is big enough to overcome my humanity and use me, flawed as I am, to serve Him. God with us is in me, and will never leave nor forsake me. 

Christmas may not be easy for you. It may never be easy for you to find joy in this season. But “All is Well” is not a comment on the state of our individual situations. “All is Well” is a state of being with Emmanuel. 

God is with us. God did not leave us to fend for ourselves. If nothing else, remember this, friend: Emmanuel came for you. 

Written by Leah Honnen. Leah Honnen is a wife, momma, and infertility warrior living in Jacksonville, IL. She is a homemaker and volunteers at her church, but loves spending time fixing up her pre-1920s home with her husband, John. Leah writes on the lessons she continues to learn in daily life – through infertility, motherhood, music, friendships, and more on Instagram @leahhonnen.