giver of hope...
It has been a hectic month, Madelyn. A month of illness, celebrations, and major house renovations. December is always busy, but this one blew in like a tornado and is ending in the same manner.
I don't know how it's possible, but you have grown sweeter and sweeter this month. You gained a new little tooth, and you've said "mama" a few times. You haven't tried to crawl and absolutely hate being placed on your stomach, which is kind of required for crawling. You love standing and are trying to pull up on your own. You love eating and laughing and giving big slobbery kisses. You're so, so happy and joyful, and an absolute delight. You are my easy going gal. You can't get enough of Annabeth, and every now and then she'll play with you or talk to you which makes your day. You had your first bout of serious illness at the beginning of the month and handled it like a champ. Even when you feel bad, you're still so sweet. Loving you is so easy to do!
This year was your first Christmas and it was a lovely one. You enjoyed the festivities and were a real trooper as we drug you all over town. Annabeth pushed you around your walker for a good bit on Christmas Eve while I prepared our dinner and you laughed and laughed as she raced you across the kitchen floor. I've learned that holidays with babies can be a bit stressful, so I've really adjusted my expectations over the years. I can't wait until you and Annabeth are a little older to fully enjoy all of the sweetness of the season. Each year I try to think of ways to make the holidays a special and memorable time, and I sure hope that you'll love the Christmas season as much as I do.
A few years ago I began thinking of ways that your dad and I could celebrate Christmas with you girls in a way that pointed more to Christ than to Santa. Our society has really capitalized on Christmas and made it a materialistic holiday so that the focus is more about finding the perfect gift and creating the perfect moments than it is on celebrating our perfect Savior. And truth be told, I have an extremely hard time not getting caught up in all of it. It's fun and festive and exciting. But the one reason Christmas is celebrated is because Jesus was born. Take away the birth of Jesus and there's no point in celebrating. And so I thought maybe there was a way that I could combine both. A way that I could do Santa and Jesus and it would be both fun and faith-filled. But the more I thought about it and discussed it with your dad, we realized that there was no good way to do that. We would acknowledge Santa, but he would get no credit for the holiday. Santa wouldn't bring gifts to our home or be the one to make Christmas magical. Rather, the focus would be on Jesus and finding ways to spread his light into the darkest season of the year. Because the truth is, Santa leaves us hoping while Jesus fills us with hope.
Christmas reminds us that God's plan is greater. Greater than anything we could imagine or suspect. Greater than anything we could come up with on our own. A plan that is so perfect and wise and loving. A plan that is good and reliable and trustworthy. Because who would have thought? Who would have thought that God would send his own son to be born into darkness? Who would have imagined that God's son, the King of Kings, would enter into this world in secret and silence and in the filth and stench of a stable? That a young teenage mother would would bear and raise Emmanuel, God with us. Who would have planned or suspected that? And yet on an ordinary night, in a most unexpected way, God laid out the most incredible plan of salvation as the cries of the Christ child pierced through the night. A thrill of hope. Good news of great joy for all people. The long awaited Messiah had come as promised. To bring life and light and hope to a weary and lost world. The ultimate gift, God in flesh, wrapped in swaddling cloths, sleeping in a manger.
Christmas fills us with hope, Madelyn. Hope that no matter how dark and dreary and painful our circumstances may be, God has a plan. A greater plan. And he's working it out. In the secret place. Often unseen and unknown. In the dark corners in which we'd never suspect, God is doing something incredible. Something far bigger and much greater than we could probably even imagine or ask. He's redeeming, he's reconciling, he is restoring. He's not forgotten. And he's not incapable. He's God. A keeper of His word. A listener of our prayers. A healer of our hearts. And a giver of hope.
I don't know how it's possible, but you have grown sweeter and sweeter this month. You gained a new little tooth, and you've said "mama" a few times. You haven't tried to crawl and absolutely hate being placed on your stomach, which is kind of required for crawling. You love standing and are trying to pull up on your own. You love eating and laughing and giving big slobbery kisses. You're so, so happy and joyful, and an absolute delight. You are my easy going gal. You can't get enough of Annabeth, and every now and then she'll play with you or talk to you which makes your day. You had your first bout of serious illness at the beginning of the month and handled it like a champ. Even when you feel bad, you're still so sweet. Loving you is so easy to do!
This year was your first Christmas and it was a lovely one. You enjoyed the festivities and were a real trooper as we drug you all over town. Annabeth pushed you around your walker for a good bit on Christmas Eve while I prepared our dinner and you laughed and laughed as she raced you across the kitchen floor. I've learned that holidays with babies can be a bit stressful, so I've really adjusted my expectations over the years. I can't wait until you and Annabeth are a little older to fully enjoy all of the sweetness of the season. Each year I try to think of ways to make the holidays a special and memorable time, and I sure hope that you'll love the Christmas season as much as I do.
A few years ago I began thinking of ways that your dad and I could celebrate Christmas with you girls in a way that pointed more to Christ than to Santa. Our society has really capitalized on Christmas and made it a materialistic holiday so that the focus is more about finding the perfect gift and creating the perfect moments than it is on celebrating our perfect Savior. And truth be told, I have an extremely hard time not getting caught up in all of it. It's fun and festive and exciting. But the one reason Christmas is celebrated is because Jesus was born. Take away the birth of Jesus and there's no point in celebrating. And so I thought maybe there was a way that I could combine both. A way that I could do Santa and Jesus and it would be both fun and faith-filled. But the more I thought about it and discussed it with your dad, we realized that there was no good way to do that. We would acknowledge Santa, but he would get no credit for the holiday. Santa wouldn't bring gifts to our home or be the one to make Christmas magical. Rather, the focus would be on Jesus and finding ways to spread his light into the darkest season of the year. Because the truth is, Santa leaves us hoping while Jesus fills us with hope.
Christmas reminds us that God's plan is greater. Greater than anything we could imagine or suspect. Greater than anything we could come up with on our own. A plan that is so perfect and wise and loving. A plan that is good and reliable and trustworthy. Because who would have thought? Who would have thought that God would send his own son to be born into darkness? Who would have imagined that God's son, the King of Kings, would enter into this world in secret and silence and in the filth and stench of a stable? That a young teenage mother would would bear and raise Emmanuel, God with us. Who would have planned or suspected that? And yet on an ordinary night, in a most unexpected way, God laid out the most incredible plan of salvation as the cries of the Christ child pierced through the night. A thrill of hope. Good news of great joy for all people. The long awaited Messiah had come as promised. To bring life and light and hope to a weary and lost world. The ultimate gift, God in flesh, wrapped in swaddling cloths, sleeping in a manger.
Christmas fills us with hope, Madelyn. Hope that no matter how dark and dreary and painful our circumstances may be, God has a plan. A greater plan. And he's working it out. In the secret place. Often unseen and unknown. In the dark corners in which we'd never suspect, God is doing something incredible. Something far bigger and much greater than we could probably even imagine or ask. He's redeeming, he's reconciling, he is restoring. He's not forgotten. And he's not incapable. He's God. A keeper of His word. A listener of our prayers. A healer of our hearts. And a giver of hope.
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