Christmas on the Front Lines

Christmas can be beautiful and painful, especially on the front lines. This short Christmas special reflects on the birth of Christ, the reality of working through the holidays, and how to find hope and peace, whether or not you celebrate the season the same way.

You might be listening to this on your way to shift, in the bay between calls, or at home trying to catch a quiet moment during a busy season. Christmas looks different when you work in law enforcement, fire, EMS, dispatch, corrections, or the hospital and Emergency world.

Some of you are working doubles while your family opens presents without you. Some are carrying grief or loneliness into a season that’s “supposed” to be happy. And some of you don’t celebrate Christmas the same way I do, or at all, but you’re still navigating the pressure, expectations, and emotions that come with this time of year.

In this special episode, we step away from training models and talk about the heart of Christmas. From my Christian faith perspective, we’ll look at the birth of Christ, God coming close in the middle of a messy, broken world, and what that means for those of us serving on the front lines today.

BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU’LL BE ENCOURAGED TO:

• See Christmas as a reminder that you’re not alone, even in dark or difficult seasons
• Find small moments of peace, presence, and gratitude in the middle of busy shifts or complicated family situations
• Give yourself permission to feel what you’re feeling this year, while still holding onto hope
• Whether you share my faith or not, this episode is meant to be a few minutes of encouragement: a chance to breathe, to remember your value beyond the job, and to be reminded that light still shines in dark places.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Houston Area CISM GRIN Training

This 3-day course, hosted by the Atascocita Fire Department, will teach you how to support your peers through effective communication, emotional resilience, and understanding the psychological impact of crises. Register for this training. https://stresscaredoc.com/atascocita-grin Dates: January 6-8, 2026 Times: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM each day Location: Atascocita Fire Admin Building

Episode Transcript

Track 1 (00:01):
You might be listening to this in your vehicle during
your shift, sitting in the dayroom between calls, or maybe at
home trying to catch a quietmoment during a busy season.
Wherever you are, I want to takea few minutes today to step away
from training and peer supportstrategies and share a special
Christmas episode. Now, I knowsomething right up front. Not

(00:21):
everyone listening to thispodcast celebrates Christmas the
same way I do. Some of you comefrom different faith traditions,
and some of you may not consideryourself religious at all. It
doesn't matter. You're welcomehere, and I'm glad you're
listening. At the same time, Idon't want to pretend Christmas
is just about lights or gifts ordays off for most people. For me,

(00:43):
in my faith tradition, Christmasis about the birth of Jesus
Christ, God stepping into ourmessy world as a baby in a
manger. So today, I'm going totalk about Christmas from that
place. My hope is that, whetheryou share that faith or not,
you'll still find encouragement,hope, and maybe a little bit of
peace in what we talk about.

Track 2 (01:06):
Welcome to Surviving Your Shift, your go-to resource
for building strong, peersupport teams in high-stress
professions. I'm your host, BartLeger, board-certified in
traumatic stress with over 25years of experience supporting
and training professionals infrontline and emergency roles.
Whether you're looking to starta peer support team, learn new

(01:28):
skills, or bring training toyour organization, this show
will equip you with practicaltools to save lives and careers.

Track 1 (01:39):
If you work in a high-stress profession, you
already know this. Christmas isa little different for most of
us.
Many of you are still pulling onthe uniform, still heading into
the ER, still answering 911calls, still climbing into the

(02:00):
rig. You're handling house firesthat started with Christmas
lights or domestic calls thatgot louder after the family
dinner or medical calls atgrandma's house and welfare
checks on people who've neverfelt more alone. For some of you,
Christmas means working a doublewhile your kids open presents
without you or eating cold foodout of a go box while everyone

(02:23):
else is posting their perfectmoments online. I remember a
number of years ago. ChristmasDay fell during my shift a
couple of years. The next yearrolled around, and it was going
to fall on my day off. I was solooking forward to spending time
with my young family until wordcame down that I was going to be
moved to another shift. Yep, itwas the Christmas shift. Oh well,

(02:47):
such is the life. It's not easy.So before I say anything else, I
want you to hear this from me.Thank you. Thank you for serving
when it would be easier to stayhome. Thank you for showing up
on the days that matter most toother people. And if you're
feeling a little torn about that,grateful to serve, but also sad

(03:08):
or frustrated about what you'remissing, that's okay. I know the
tension is real. Christmas canbe beautiful, but it can also be
painful. Some of you arecarrying fresh grief this year.
Maybe this is the firstChristmas without someone you
love. My wife, Catherine's mom,died right before Christmas not
long ago. Maybe your family issplit up. Maybe you're far from

(03:32):
home. Maybe you've got a son ordaughter, a spouse or a parent
who won't be sitting at thetable this year because of death,
divorce, or simply distance. Ifthat's you, I want you to know
you're not weak for feeling that,and you're not broken because
this season doesn't feel merryand bright. You're human.

(03:54):
busy shifts, complicated familysituations, grief, or loneliness,
what does Christmas have to sayto us? Let's go back to the
original story for a minute.When we talk about the birth of
Christ, we're not talking abouta postcard scene. We're talking
about a young couple, far fromhome, in a crowded town, with no

(04:14):
room for them. We're talkingabout a baby born in a place
where animals were kept. We'retalking about a dangerous time
under an oppressive government,in a world where people were
tired, afraid, and waiting forsomething, someone, to change
things. And into that world, nota perfect world or a peaceful

(04:36):
world, certainly not a safeworld, God comes close. Not a
politician or a conquering king,but as a baby. The Bible
describes it as a light shiningin the darkness. You and I know
a little something aboutdarkness. We've seen it on
scenes, in back bedrooms, intrauma bays, in the back of a
patrol car, in quietconversations in the hallway

(04:58):
after a tough call. Sometimes wesee it in other people's eyes,
and sometimes we feel it in ourown. Christmas, for me, is this
reminder that God doesn't standfar off from that darkness. He
steps into it. He's not scaredof it, and He's not surprised by
it. And He doesn't demand thatwe clean ourselves up or get our

(05:22):
act together before He comesnear. He shows up in a manger,
in a barn, in the middle of achaotic census, in a family that
doesn't have everything figuredout. And that's good news for
all of us, because our livesaren't neat and tidy either. Our
schedules don't line up withHallmark movies. Our homes don't

(05:42):
always look like Christmas cards.And don't I know, our hearts
don't always feel peaceful. Themessage of Christmas isn't, try
harder to be happy. The messageof Christmas is, a Savior has
been born. God is with us. Now,if you're listening and you
don't share that belief, again,I want you to know, I respect

(06:04):
you, and I'm glad that you'rehere. Even if we see this
holiday differently, there aresome things I think we can all
lean into during this season. Wecan lean into hope, the idea
that dark seasons don't lastforever, and that there's still
goodness ahead we may not evensee yet. We can lean into peace,

(06:25):
not the absence of calls orchaos, but the kind of peace
that says, I can take a breath.I don't have to carry this alone.
And we can lean into presence,being fully with the people in
front of us, whether that's ourfamily at home, our coworkers at
the station, or a patient we'reholding a hand for at 2 a. m.

(06:47):
And from my faith perspective,we can lean into the presence of
God, a God who sees and whoknows and who comes close in the
person of Jesus. If you'reworking this Christmas, I want
to encourage you to do a coupleof things. Sometime during your
shift, if you can grab even 30seconds, just pause. Maybe

(07:09):
you're in the ambulance bay,maybe in the hallway, maybe in
your patrol car, maybe in aquiet corner of the nurse's
station. Take a slow breath andremind yourself, even if you
don't quite feel it, I'm notalone. God, thank you for being
with me right here. You don'thave to use fancy words, and you

(07:29):
don't have to sound like apreacher. Just an honest moment.
If you're off for Christmas andwith family or friends, I want
to invite you to be intentionalabout savoring one small,
ordinary moment. It might beyour kid's laughter, the smell
of something cooking, a hug fromsomeone you love, a quiet moment

(07:49):
on the couch after everyone'sgone to bed. Don't rush past
those. Those are gifts, too. Andif this season hurts, and for
some of you, it really does,give yourself permission to feel
that and also to reach out.Maybe that's to a chaplain, a
pastor, a trusted friend, orsomeone on your peer support

(08:11):
team. You don't have to slap ona smiley face and pretend
Christmas is easy. It's okay tosay, this year's hard. That
honesty doesn't push God away.In my experience, that's often
where He meets us. I also wantto say this. If you're listening
to this, you matter more thanyou know. You're not just a
badge number, a patch, or a roll.You're a person with a story,

(08:35):
with a soul, created by God andloved by Him. Your life has
value beyond what you do on thejob. Christmas is a reminder of
that, too, of a God who thoughtyou were worth coming close to.
So, as we wrap up this specialChristmas episode, my hope for
you is simple. I hope you find amoment of quiet in the middle of
the noise. I hope you feel seen,even if it can't be with

(08:58):
everyone you love this year. Ihope you sense that you're not
carrying the burdens by yourself.And I hope, in some way, the
story of that baby in Bethlehem,Jesus, born into a messy, broken
world, brings you a little morecourage, a little more comfort,
and a little more hope. Thankyou for what you do. for how you
serve. Thank you for the waysyou show up, even when no one's

(09:21):
watching and no one's postingabout it. We'll be back next
time with more conversationsabout peer support, wellness,
and surviving your shift.
that you won't just survive thisseason. You'll find a little bit
of joy in it, too. Thanks forlistening to Surviving Your
Shift. Merry Christmas, Godbless, and have a great day.