Unexpected Emotions

Do you ever experience a time when you get very emotional over something, perhaps a memory? If we are truthful with ourselves I'd say we all experience that type of thing at some point in our lives.
The Monday after Thanksgiving my husband and I took a trip to Tennessee to visit our son and daughter in-law. This was the first time for us seeing their new home they just purchased. We were so excited to spend time with them. However, the trip is a very long car ride, about 17 hours. We planned for a night in a hotel to split the drive up. All of this was going as planned.
Our travels would take us down through Virginia and over to Tennessee. I have family in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, so we knew it would be a beautiful ride with gorgeous scenery. I was excited to see this since it had been several years since I've been there to visit. As we were getting closer I was getting more and more excited. I could not explain why because that is not where we planned to stop for the night. Then I saw the signs of the Shenandoah Valley and Luray.  That's when it all changed.
I could feel myself filling up with emotion. I had so many memories going through my mind. I found myself wanting to step back in time, sitting on my Grandma's porch on her glider, taking in the spectacular views of Skyline Drive. And I could hear my sweet Daddy's southern voice saying we are almost at Grandma's house. Then the emotions flowed down my cheeks in the form of tears. Wow!
I thought to myself where did that come from? Out of nowhere, these emotions came, and were very real. Oh my goodness, I was missing my Daddy, and my grandparents, and many other family members.
So here we were, traveling to Tennessee to see our son and daughter in-law, so excited to see them and have an early Christmas with them, and I was experiencing this emotional time. It wasn't a sad time at all, just a very reflective moment.
What do we do with times like this? Are they ridiculous? Should we try to avoid those type of things? Are they "negative"?  I will say with total confidence, absolutely not. I really believe our Lord Jesus has given us memories for a reason. He has given us emotions for a reason. It is what we do with those that matter. You may be thinking what does this have to do with anything.
One of the most precious memories we all have is the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons spending time with family. We have good memories and some not so good. But we have a choice. We can sit there and feel sorry for ourselves because we have lost our loved ones, or we can stand up tall and do something with those memories. Share those happy times with your children or your grandchildren.   If you don't have anyone to share with then find a lonely person and share some happy memories with them. During the holiday season many people struggle with depression. Use your happy memories, even if they are emotional, to lift someone else's spirits up. Have someone over for tea and cookies. If you can, drive someone around to see the Christmas decorations lit up at night time. There are many ways that we can show the light of Jesus Christ during this season. And don't forget about yourself, stay in the Word of God, worship our Lord, and keep yourself in a place where you can encourage others.
It doesn't matter if you have tears flowing down. They can very well be happy tears.
And to finish my story, we arrived safely in TN and had a beautiful time with our son and daughter in-law. Their town had their Christmas tree lighting in the town square. We had such a wonderful time, we hated to leave. Coming home when we reached the area in Virginia that holds a special place in my heart,  I had more happy memories to add to my collection.
My prayer for you all this Christmas is that you can experience the joy of recalling the memories you have with loved ones and that you can find someone to share those memories with, someone who needs to experience some joy.