For a new season, a fresh start...

Christmas isn’t easy. Shopping, wrapping, cooking, decorating. Christmas in modern day America is work. A time when we are flooded with things to do, expectations to meet, and memories that may or may not bring joy.

 

Christmas can be hard. A dark season. A time that we want to skip because, let’s be honest, sometimes Christmas can bring pain. Pain, sorrow, regret, disappointment. Yet, every year, Christmas faithfully comes back around bringing with it memories from years before. And the truth is, some things in life we’d rather just forget if we could because the mind has a way of inflicting pain in a way that seems unfair and overwhelming.

 

But the first Christmas wasn’t easy. A young mother and father found themselves sitting in a stable awaiting the arrival of their first child. It was a dark, scary, painful, labor filled night. Expectations loomed over their heads as they had been giving a huge task of parenting the Christ child. Don’t you think Mary wanted her mother with her, too? Someone who could maybe walk her through what she was experiencing. Someone who had been through the same thing, who understood, and could say, “You’re doing a great job, honey! I know this is hard, but you’re going to make it through this. The pain is great, but trust me, this will only last for a bit. I remember when I was in your shoes, and it was worth it, Mary. Keep pushing, you hang in there, and don't give up. Your reward is coming!”

 

But a young man and first time father held her hand and helped her labor through what was, I’m sure, one of the scariest, most difficult moments of her life. Mary wasn’t laid up in a hospital bed resting from the epidural while nurses and doctors came in and checked on her progress. No, it was the two of them. Mary and Joseph were going to bring this baby into the world on their own and do their best to figure out how to be parents to the Savior of the world. The Messiah. The long awaited Redeemer.

 

He was here. God, wrapped in flesh, entered into a dark stable, into the arms of a young mother. A new season had begun. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. All of the waiting, all of the pain, all of the fears, they diminished. Gone. Jesus came to replace them. To bring  hope, light, and life.

 

And that is Christmas. A new season. A fresh start. Jesus came so that we didn’t have to live in fear, in pain, in sorrow, regret, or despair. He came to bring hope and light to those who would walk in darkness. Not if, but when, they do. Because we will. We will have dark seasons. Difficult, hard, cold seasons. There will be seasons of life when the pain is so intense, so overwhelming and seemingly unbearable, but we find comfort and peace knowing that we have a Savior who is with us. A Savior who understands, who knows, because He’s been there. He has experienced it, and He has been through it. And He promised not to abandon or forsake us. He promised to be close to the broken hearted, to those whose spirit’s are crushed. And as we walk through the valley on the journey to the mountain top, He will help us the whole way saying, “You’re doing a great job, beloved child! I know this is hard, but you’re going to make it through this. The pain is great, but trust me, this will only last for a bit. I remember when I was in your shoes, and it was worth it. Keep pushing, you hang in there, and don't give up. Your reward is coming!”

 

"Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever...The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine...For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end." - Isaiah 9:1-2 & 6-7