Wednesday, December 13, 2017

The Surprise Gift that Came from my Failure...

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!”