Merry Christmas

Let's imagine together a few things. Imagine you are 14 or 15. You are just entering high school and your whole life is before you. You have plans. You even are in a relationship with someone you adore and want to spend the rest of your life with. Your parents like him. You go to church with your family each week. Your father reminds you of the promises from God, even though God has been silent for 400 years. (that is longer than the United States has been a country) You are going about your day, when all of a sudden, an angel of God appears and tells you that you are soon going to be a parent. I can't emphasize enough 400 years of silence!! Not asking if you are interested in doing this, if you are ready, or what your thoughts and plans are, but tells you this will be happening and you have been chosen. Your parents trust you and are helping you plan your future. You now need to tell them you are expecting. You could be stoned to death for such an action. The thing is, you didn't do anything wrong. You were chosen for this role. Others never seem to understand the details, you try to explain. The world has been waiting to hear from God and the news of the Messiah, yet, they laugh at you and your entire family. Your parents look at your growing stomach and some days still question, how this happened and if they are making the right choice. They didn't get a visit from an angel. The one you are to marry thankfully was given a visit by the angel of God. Only his message, was a bit different. He was to marry you and raise the child. He was to be responsible and treat him as his own. He was to be the earthly father, this means, every eye is on him as the "father". The wedding is moved up closer and it is a very small affair. Every time you leave your home, the whispers and finger pointing makes you want to cover your head and never step outside.You need to soon leave, government orders. So, off you go, unsure if you will ever see your parents and siblings again. You have never had a child and you pray this trip will go fine. Your mom will not be there with you, nor any sisters or aunts who have experienced child birth to help you. You reflect back to the day the angel came and gave you this good news, however, it has now been 9 months and no word. It helped to see your much older cousin expecting and hearing her story, yet, no word as to what is happening next. Your spouse tells you again what the angel said, that he will be Emmanuel, God with Us. You wonder as you travel hour by hour day by day, how will we ever make it? What have I done to be chosen to carry this child. Then the labor pains begin. No way you can turn back and be with family and the town is beyond full with strangers on the same journey. Your spouse finally comes back and says he found a spot, it is a barn.....Thankfully your delivery goes well and you are holding that little bundle in your arms. You will never forget those eyes, those eyes that looked right through you, those eyes that would later bring you comfort. When you wrapped your finger around his, and He grasped back, don't you know your heart just melted. Never mind, you were holding the hand of God!!!!!Then it happens, the shepherds start to come one by one, the town starts buzzing with activity. And that star!! Was it there last night? How could you have missed it! You have never seen such a thing. The nine months of silence seems to all be in the past, for everything you and your spouse were told is unfolding before your very eyes, just as you were told it would be!

This all is to help you understand that Mary and Joseph were real people just like you and I. They had emotions and feelings. They had plans and families. We can so easily read the Christmas Story in the bible and just flow right past that. When you think between the lines, and realize what they did and how they handled themselves, it makes you realize what all was involved. I always wondered how Mary could just sit there and "ponder these things in her heart". Maybe because I am so vocal, that was harder for me to imagine, but you know what? I know the beginning and the ending of the story. She had the events unfolding before her day by day. She didn't know how long she would have him, she didn't know what his ministry would look like, and dare I say, how he would die? She was on the move from day one. King Herod wanted her son dead, and he had the power to do so. But there was a part in the first paragraph I hope you didn't miss. His name would be "Emmanuel" - GOD WITH US!!! That is how, you leave your family, that is how you are obedient, that is how you deliver in a barn, that is how you hide a baby and keep him from crying so others don't hear and tell the king, that is how you wake up each morning and wonder, what will happen today. That is how you look at the entire experience as an honor and embrace each moment rather than thinking about what you had planned. This is so much better than anything you could have dreamed of! He would save his people from their sins. She knew the prophecy. But each time she heard the words of Gabriel, Emmanuel, she could have peace.

You and I live in hard times too. Some reading this may have lost a spouse this year, either by death or divorce. Someone has heard the "C" word, cancer. Someone has lost a job, someone needs surgery, and someone may have lost a child. Some reading this may not have much in their savings account and are uncertain of the future. Some are dealing with depression. Each day is a struggle. Some have children serving overseas, maybe in our military or as missionaries, you don't see them as much as you would like. Maybe you have family members you don't get along with very well and the idea of spending the next few days together, overwhelms you. But you know what, you can, when you remember Emmanuel. God with us. That my friend is how you face each day. You can't do it on your own and He knows that. That is why he is with us. He has plans for you and I. Plans that don't make sense to us, yet, they are way better than anything we could have ever imagined. Sometimes life goes a certain way because of our choices, but He can make something beautiful happen out of our mess. Sometimes things happen here, that won't be explained until Heaven. I don't have the answers for those grieving a great loss, I only know that He helps us grieve and good can come out of bad.

So this week, as we celebrate His birth and we celebrate the many names given in scripture, Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6); remember Emmanuel - God with Us.

He loves you so much, that he couldn't just stand by and watch you continue on the path that leads to death, so he came down to earth as a baby and was placed in a manger. He grew and became a man who preached the message of salvation and reconciliation with God. A perfect lamb had to be given and He knew who that was before He ever left Heaven. Himself.

Emmanuel- God with Us!

Merry Christmas and may you have that same warm feeling I have in my heart as I close this post. This isn't my home, this isn't all that life has to offer, this is only the beginning and some day, I will spend eternity with Him. But until that day, He came and is with me, until I can be with Him in His home. My everlasting home.