because it will...
We had another good Christmas. Annabeth! I've been wanting to sit down and write about it for 4 days now, and I'm finally making a point to do it before the season is over. Better late than never, right? I've come to learn that Christmas with children makes for an interesting celebration. Truth be told, you did a great job participating in all of our Christmas activities. I do, however, look forward to the holidays in a few years when you actually understand what's going on. Nevertheless, I am thankful for every Christmas we celebrate because it is the most wonderful time of the year!
Being a parent gives one a new perspective on Christmas. Not just because Christmas is magical through the eyes of a child, but because there is a small level of understanding about what happened that night. The night Jesus was born. It's hard to grasp the concept of giving birth and becoming a parent until you actually do. And these past two years, as we've celebrated Christmas with you, I think about Mary. I certainly can't fathom what it's like to have a baby on a barn floor, thank goodness, and I hope I'm never able to relate to her in that way. But I think about how nervous Mary must have felt that night as she labored and waited on her child to be born. Did she take a Birthing 101 class before they headed to Bethlehem? Did she even know how to deliver a baby? Did Joseph have any sort of preparation in this department, too, or was he just trusting that her body would do what it was made to do and there wouldn't be any complications? Was she scared about becoming a mother? This wasn't just any ordinary child. She was tasked with raising the Son of God. Was she anxious or at peace? Was she excited or petrified? I have no idea how Mary actually felt, but I bet you anything that as she laid on that dirty floor, the pressure and pain intensifying with each contraction that came, she clung to the promise that God had given her. That a child, the Messiah, WOULD be born. That all of this 9 month journey ending with great pain and work would not be in vain. And even though she had no idea what to expect, what the future held, or what to do once he got here, she could trust that God would work it all out according to His perfect plan. After all, he had gotten them this far. And, like the angel said, "For no word from God will ever fail." (Luke 1:37 NIV)
That's what we have to remember, Annabeth. No word from God will ever fail. Because there will be moments in life where you start to question Him. Moments when you're afraid. You may feel unprepared for the task set before you. You might feel lost or surrounded by darkness. Maybe you feel alone and the future is really unclear. You may find yourself in a season of desperation, pain, uncertainty. You might, like Mary, find yourself in a moment in time that doesn't seem possible. A moment when you're facing, what feels like, the impossible. Occasions when you'd rather skip the valley and go straight to the mountain top. Fast forward and get to the good part. Avoid the suffering and only reside in the rejoicing, but life doesn't work that way, sweet girl. It never has, and it won't until Jesus returns. And so when you come to those places that are hard. Those places you'd rather not be. Those places where hope might seem lost and the future dim, cling to His promises and remember that He never fails. Even if you don't feel it, believe it and keep hanging on. Keep pushing and waiting and laboring until you see it come true. Because it will.
For Mary, it was the cry of a baby. Her son. Her Savior. And in that moment in time, it didn't matter where they were or what they had been through. All that mattered was that He was here - that God's word had come true. More than that, His Word had come to be with us. To save us. To give us hope in the hopelessness. Purpose in the pain. Joy in the struggle. And light in the darkness.
"Blessed is she who believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her." - Luke 1:45
Being a parent gives one a new perspective on Christmas. Not just because Christmas is magical through the eyes of a child, but because there is a small level of understanding about what happened that night. The night Jesus was born. It's hard to grasp the concept of giving birth and becoming a parent until you actually do. And these past two years, as we've celebrated Christmas with you, I think about Mary. I certainly can't fathom what it's like to have a baby on a barn floor, thank goodness, and I hope I'm never able to relate to her in that way. But I think about how nervous Mary must have felt that night as she labored and waited on her child to be born. Did she take a Birthing 101 class before they headed to Bethlehem? Did she even know how to deliver a baby? Did Joseph have any sort of preparation in this department, too, or was he just trusting that her body would do what it was made to do and there wouldn't be any complications? Was she scared about becoming a mother? This wasn't just any ordinary child. She was tasked with raising the Son of God. Was she anxious or at peace? Was she excited or petrified? I have no idea how Mary actually felt, but I bet you anything that as she laid on that dirty floor, the pressure and pain intensifying with each contraction that came, she clung to the promise that God had given her. That a child, the Messiah, WOULD be born. That all of this 9 month journey ending with great pain and work would not be in vain. And even though she had no idea what to expect, what the future held, or what to do once he got here, she could trust that God would work it all out according to His perfect plan. After all, he had gotten them this far. And, like the angel said, "For no word from God will ever fail." (Luke 1:37 NIV)
That's what we have to remember, Annabeth. No word from God will ever fail. Because there will be moments in life where you start to question Him. Moments when you're afraid. You may feel unprepared for the task set before you. You might feel lost or surrounded by darkness. Maybe you feel alone and the future is really unclear. You may find yourself in a season of desperation, pain, uncertainty. You might, like Mary, find yourself in a moment in time that doesn't seem possible. A moment when you're facing, what feels like, the impossible. Occasions when you'd rather skip the valley and go straight to the mountain top. Fast forward and get to the good part. Avoid the suffering and only reside in the rejoicing, but life doesn't work that way, sweet girl. It never has, and it won't until Jesus returns. And so when you come to those places that are hard. Those places you'd rather not be. Those places where hope might seem lost and the future dim, cling to His promises and remember that He never fails. Even if you don't feel it, believe it and keep hanging on. Keep pushing and waiting and laboring until you see it come true. Because it will.
For Mary, it was the cry of a baby. Her son. Her Savior. And in that moment in time, it didn't matter where they were or what they had been through. All that mattered was that He was here - that God's word had come true. More than that, His Word had come to be with us. To save us. To give us hope in the hopelessness. Purpose in the pain. Joy in the struggle. And light in the darkness.
"Blessed is she who believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her." - Luke 1:45
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