The Christmas Story offers hope even in the middle of our darkest season - I would say especially in our darkest season. It's not uncommon for us to dress up the Christmas story and remove the grittiness and the humanity from it. Lets take a closer look. Let's talk about the very real emotional drama that was unfolding. There is so much comfort in the realization that this is where Jesus chose to enter the story as Emanuel God with us - God with us in the middle of emotional mess, God with us in the middle of imperfection. I am not alone, God is with me in the middle of it all.