Reason #325
I got my first Christmas card of 2012 in the mail over the weekend. I love getting Christmas cards, and I especially love the ones with family pictures on the front. I received this card from one of my childhood friends, and I still had her card from last year hanging on the side of my fridge. Her little boy has grown leaps and bounds over the past year, and I was glad I had the two cards for comparison.
I didn't send out Christmas cards last year. I received a few and stuck them on my fridge. Of course, at the time, I wasn't as joyous to receive cards plastered with family pictures, but I was grateful that my friends were thinking of me during the season so I kept them as a reminder of how blessed I was to have sweet friends. Because really, if you think about it, thought and consideration goes into the Christmas card mailing list. You don't just send them to anyone and everyone you know. You send them to the people who you want to be included in your life. Those you care about. A nice way to send them warm wishes and let them know you're thinking of them. So, as I was doing a little bit of Christmas decoration shopping this weekend (which is another story in itself), I found the perfect Christmas cards to send out. Seriously, these cards fit me to a T. They incorporate my favorite things. Now, because they are actual cards, that means I have to write something on the inside. I did, for a brief moment, debate on dressing Scout in a festive costume, taking her picture and making a cute little photo-card, but that seemed to be stretching it a bit. (I apologize to anyone reading this that sends out Christmas cards with their pet's picture.) So today, I began looking for a verse to include in my Christmas card. I thought about the message I wanted to convey and so I decided to go with the word "hope" for my theme. I began searching for verses over hope and came across one that I repeated to myself often last year. In fact, I even printed it out and framed it.
I read these verses again and my heart was overwhelmed. Because, to me, this really is what Christmas is about. I thought back to last year and this year and how these words gave me such hope. Even as I read them again today, I was filled with that same hope. Hope that something better always awaits us. Something better is awaiting for us. And sometimes, holidays can be hard. Because it is a time of nostalgia filled with memories and traditions. Family and activities and gifts and cheer, and the truth is, I could have cared the less last year. The only thing I was grateful for was that I was going to get a few days off from work. A few days to just let down my guard and be myself. And sure, I tried my best to put on my brave face and make the best of the holidays. I was, after all, surrounded by the people I loved the most. But it was hard. And so all I really had was hope.
Last Christmas Eve, my mom and I went to get our nails painted. We sat in a salon, next to a huge window, and it began to snow. Little tiny snow flurries fell softy to the ground. It was peaceful and beautiful. I remember that I chose to paint my nails grey. The girl talked me into a glittery top coat and I obliged. That night, we bundled up and we went to the candlelight service. As the service concluded we sang Silent Night and tears rolled down my cheeks. But I had hope. Hope in the Christ-child that had come to save me. The One who came to bring hope. To let us know that better things were ahead. To display God's faithfulness. And so I clung tightly to that hope because it was all I had. I had to remind myself each morning that His mercies were for that day and things were going to get better. And, did they ever!
But that's the purpose of Christmas, the joy of the season. It's a time when we get to see how things do get better. Because He came at just the right time. In the pit of the despair, people feeling hopeless and alone. A world that was falling apart, needing redemption and rescue and He came to do that. Right when they needed it most, when they just couldn't see how God was going to turn things around, how things were going to get better, after waiting and waiting and waiting, He came at the right moment. And He does the same for us. Because of His great mercy and love, He gives us the hope to hold on to as we wait. Through the despair, through the hopelessness, through the drought and the pain and the suffering, we have a hope to hold on to. A hope that it only gets better from here.
And so I remember last year. But the joy the Lord has brought about greatly exceeds the pain that was so prevalent then. And I praise Him for that. For going above and beyond anything I could imagine and, in His perfect time, making things better. He always does, He always will, and I look forward to the day when we finally get to experience His absolute best! Until then, we hold out hope knowing it only gets better from here.
#325 - Because He came to save us, we know that better things await us!
"God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. It’s a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God. It’s a good thing when you’re young to stick it out through the hard times. When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions: Wait for hope to appear. Don’t run from trouble. Take it full-face. The “worst” is never the worst." - Lamentations 3:25-30
I didn't send out Christmas cards last year. I received a few and stuck them on my fridge. Of course, at the time, I wasn't as joyous to receive cards plastered with family pictures, but I was grateful that my friends were thinking of me during the season so I kept them as a reminder of how blessed I was to have sweet friends. Because really, if you think about it, thought and consideration goes into the Christmas card mailing list. You don't just send them to anyone and everyone you know. You send them to the people who you want to be included in your life. Those you care about. A nice way to send them warm wishes and let them know you're thinking of them. So, as I was doing a little bit of Christmas decoration shopping this weekend (which is another story in itself), I found the perfect Christmas cards to send out. Seriously, these cards fit me to a T. They incorporate my favorite things. Now, because they are actual cards, that means I have to write something on the inside. I did, for a brief moment, debate on dressing Scout in a festive costume, taking her picture and making a cute little photo-card, but that seemed to be stretching it a bit. (I apologize to anyone reading this that sends out Christmas cards with their pet's picture.) So today, I began looking for a verse to include in my Christmas card. I thought about the message I wanted to convey and so I decided to go with the word "hope" for my theme. I began searching for verses over hope and came across one that I repeated to myself often last year. In fact, I even printed it out and framed it.
I’ll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness,
the taste of ashes, the poison I’ve swallowed.
I remember it all—oh, how well I remember—
the feeling of hitting the bottom.
But there’s one other thing I remember,
and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:
the taste of ashes, the poison I’ve swallowed.
I remember it all—oh, how well I remember—
the feeling of hitting the bottom.
But there’s one other thing I remember,
and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:
God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,
his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning.
How great your faithfulness!
I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over).
He’s all I’ve got left.
his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning.
How great your faithfulness!
I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over).
He’s all I’ve got left.
- Lamentations 3:19-24 (The Message)
I read these verses again and my heart was overwhelmed. Because, to me, this really is what Christmas is about. I thought back to last year and this year and how these words gave me such hope. Even as I read them again today, I was filled with that same hope. Hope that something better always awaits us. Something better is awaiting for us. And sometimes, holidays can be hard. Because it is a time of nostalgia filled with memories and traditions. Family and activities and gifts and cheer, and the truth is, I could have cared the less last year. The only thing I was grateful for was that I was going to get a few days off from work. A few days to just let down my guard and be myself. And sure, I tried my best to put on my brave face and make the best of the holidays. I was, after all, surrounded by the people I loved the most. But it was hard. And so all I really had was hope.
Last Christmas Eve, my mom and I went to get our nails painted. We sat in a salon, next to a huge window, and it began to snow. Little tiny snow flurries fell softy to the ground. It was peaceful and beautiful. I remember that I chose to paint my nails grey. The girl talked me into a glittery top coat and I obliged. That night, we bundled up and we went to the candlelight service. As the service concluded we sang Silent Night and tears rolled down my cheeks. But I had hope. Hope in the Christ-child that had come to save me. The One who came to bring hope. To let us know that better things were ahead. To display God's faithfulness. And so I clung tightly to that hope because it was all I had. I had to remind myself each morning that His mercies were for that day and things were going to get better. And, did they ever!
But that's the purpose of Christmas, the joy of the season. It's a time when we get to see how things do get better. Because He came at just the right time. In the pit of the despair, people feeling hopeless and alone. A world that was falling apart, needing redemption and rescue and He came to do that. Right when they needed it most, when they just couldn't see how God was going to turn things around, how things were going to get better, after waiting and waiting and waiting, He came at the right moment. And He does the same for us. Because of His great mercy and love, He gives us the hope to hold on to as we wait. Through the despair, through the hopelessness, through the drought and the pain and the suffering, we have a hope to hold on to. A hope that it only gets better from here.
And so I remember last year. But the joy the Lord has brought about greatly exceeds the pain that was so prevalent then. And I praise Him for that. For going above and beyond anything I could imagine and, in His perfect time, making things better. He always does, He always will, and I look forward to the day when we finally get to experience His absolute best! Until then, we hold out hope knowing it only gets better from here.
#325 - Because He came to save us, we know that better things await us!
"God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. It’s a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God. It’s a good thing when you’re young to stick it out through the hard times. When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions: Wait for hope to appear. Don’t run from trouble. Take it full-face. The “worst” is never the worst." - Lamentations 3:25-30
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