So this Christmas season has been tougher than usual for me.
I’ve been behind and overwhelmed, and feeling
a bit like a failure in a lot of ways. I
have three small children, and Christmas is a big deal to them, partly because
we always make it fun and really celebrate Jesus and enjoy all that the season
has to offer. But this year I’m
struggling on the get it done side, and so we didn’t even have our tree up or decorations out until
this past weekend. (Very late for us!)
But something surprising happened.
My family got to experience probably a once in a lifetime
experience. We got to cut a Christmas
tree down IN THE SNOW! That’s right… my being overwhelmed and behind put us on a
course to intersect with a surprise snowfall that left inches of snow all over
everything. And so we joyfully threw
snowballs and laughed and giggled and brushed snow off of trees in order to
pick the one for us. I have never experienced
this before, and knowing Georgia weather, may never again!
Isn’t this just like our Father? Constantly FOR US.
We’re beating ourselves up about how we’ve missed it
again. We’re expecting discipline or
correction or something. Something we
know we probably deserve. And instead He
comes in and says again: “Hey, I AM FOR YOU. I am with you. You are precious to
me, and here’s a surprise gift from Me!”
I’m not sure when I will ever figure this out… how personal
He is, and how FOR ME He is.
He
constantly takes my lack and turns it around…
how He takes my missteps and re-routes them to His glory… Amazing grace!
Listen to the message from the Angels to the shepherds:
(Luke 2)
Then an angel of the
Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around
them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for
look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people:
Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was
born for you in the city of
David.
Born FOR US!
And so is the message of Christmas: Emmanuel, God with us, God FOR US!
In this season, let us be reminded that God came in the
midst of our sin, rebellion and failure, and invaded with radical love. A surprise gift above all gifts. The gift that says, “I love you, you are
precious to me, and I am FOR YOU!”
