We're all familiar with the traditional sights and sounds of Christmas: streets full of twinkling lights, beloved carols ringing out, beautifully wrapped presents carefully tucked under the tree. It’s all so merry and bright. That's what Christmas is supposed to feel like, isn't it? But what about when it doesn't? When the sting of death seems all too real, when the relationship seems broken beyond repair, when it simply doesn't feel like Christmas? In these desperate moments, the Psalms remind us that Jesus not only understands our suffering, but willingly entered into it. His birth heralded the good news that the darkness of suffering wasn’t permanent. The clouds of sin and sadness wouldn’t remain forever. The shadows of despair couldn’t win. So even when it doesn’t feel like Christmas, we can find joy in the one who came to suffer with us and to end our suffering forever: Emmanuel, God with us.