Why Christmas Matters

Christmas – the most uncontaminated form of wholesomeness that mankind is capable of… in the purest form of divinity that Almighty God simply is.

There are always those that downplay Christmas, that say the birth of Jesus is not as important as His death and resurrection, but how can one be separated from the other? His birth was heralded by celestial beings, honored by kings, and predicted by prophets for centuries. Of course the ultimate goal was the act of paying for the sins of mankind, but the miracle that sprung from a quiet night in an animal stable set in motion the amazing God-conspired plan that was intended from the moment of creation.

This Christmas, may we pause in our business, in our shopping, in our visiting. As we watch our loved ones open presents and see their faces shine, may we remember the ultimately extravagant gift we were presented with on that silent, holy night. Who are we that we should be worth the life of His Son? But yet it remains that the baby's cry that shattered the silence in a Bethlehem stable that night is the voice of an immense and incredible Savior who was, is, and is to come. And yet who loves the lowest, the vilest, the most broken among us. Who came for them. Who died for them.

Who lives... for you.

All the Ways He Says He Loves Me

I know It's been a long time since I've blogged. A very long time. There's a wonderful reason for that fact.

But let me start at the beginning of my story. I ask you to refer back to June, when I had written about the scary surgery and possibility of my (then) three year old son having lymphoma, and the wonderful answer to prayer when it was revealed that he simply had some excessively overactive lymph nodes and was pronounced healthy.

Since that traumatic experience, I have entered into a deeper level of relationship with my Savior. I didn't notice it at first, but as the days and weeks passed, I started to notice a trend whenever something tempted me to worry over my children or anything else. When some trial thought to get the best of my emotions or will. God was speaking. Not a booming voice from the heavens shouting "thees" and "thous," but a loving, tender voice whispering from the pages of my Bible. I suppose the voice has always spoken to me. But it takes the scary moments of life when you are desperate to hear it to help you learn to recognize it.

God directed me to the Psalms at the beginning of the summer and has wisely kept me there until I finished it two days ago. From Psalm 56 the Lord gave me precious truth for my little boy to memorize and repeat as he headed into surgery: "When I am afraid I will trust in You, in God whose Word I praise. In God I trust; I will not be afraid." Little did he know his mommy was silently repeating it with tears streaming down her face as he was wheeled away.

The day before I received the greatest relief of my life - the results of Noah's biopsy, God said from Psalm 41: The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed, and restore him from his bed of illness." I knew then. I knew that everything was going to be alright. I felt as if I'd crossed a mountain, but I knew that the journey was drawing to a conclusion.

But God wasn't finished with us yet. He continued to speak words of love and hope to my heart through the Psalms throughout the next month. And quite unexpectedly, a familiar thought occured to me. It's occured to me three other times in my life. God was letting me know that he was giving us a blessing. I think of it almost as a "reward" for allowing him to show his faithfulness to us by entrusting him with the life of our son. God was planning to send us another child.

Well, I promptly told my husband the good news. He was less than convinced. But neither of us were in any sort of hurry to work it out - getting pregnant is something that's required a lot of time and prayer to accomplish for me.

God didn't wait this time.

On the morning of August 20, I woke early, planning to take a test because of the suspicious symptoms and telltale feeling I was having. I read Psalms 103:

Praise the Lord Oh my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins, and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.... The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love... he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him."

I didn't really need to take the test to know that it would be positive.

All this to say, that every time I look into the healthy, vibrant blue eyes of my four year old son, and next spring when I lay eyes on this little miracle God is forming within me, I will remember the summer that God drew close to me, and showed me his nature, and let me feel his love.

Some use scientific research, some use theological apologetics to herald the existence of the Creator God. I don't need it. I know he's not only real, but exactly who he says he is. You can know too, for absolute certainty. Step out on faith. Trust him regardless of what the circumstance or your feelings tell you. Persevere, and he will begin to reveal himself to you. He will remind you of a sacrifice on a cross, an empty grave, your sins atoned for, and then point to every time in your life that he reached his larger-than-the-universe hands toward you, and whispered so gently in your ear....

I love you. You are mine. I will always take care of you.

Being Still and Knowing - A Journey

Sometimes when my babies are fast asleep I sneak into their rooms and watch them. See their chests rise and fall in steady syncopation. Their hand thrown unknowingly upon the pillow, their hair damp and sticking to their flushed little face. It gives me peace. Not just to know that at the moment I am not required to break up fights, motivate obedience, quell whining or dole out punishments but I am free to soak in all the wonder of who that little person God created really has the potential to be.

Lately I've been thinking about this world in which we are living right now in this country of prosperity and ridiculous wealth, recession or not. We have or can easily obtain everything we could possibly need and most of our reasonable desires as well. But sometimes I wonder what the trade has become. Our way of life requires our constant attention. Jobs to which we must drive to every day, where we give our strength and our creative energy into a company that may only be lingering on the precipice of ruin. We work harder to gain a glimmer of assurance that we might still have that job in the morning. Children are handed over to specialized care in order that they might be prepared for life, and at the same time are robbed of any extended period of time where they might simply play on their own and be a child. They are robbed of precious time with the only people on the planet that can show them how to relate to and learn to live in this life.

We have the relief of knowing there are doctors to care for us any time of day or night; within minutes in case of emergency they can be at our side. But to this blessing is added the stress of medical bills to pay, research and second opinions to find, decisions to be made about life and death that I'm not sure we were created to know how to make.

We have strong, beautiful homes to live in, that even if built to the least standard of requirement are safe enough to shelter us for years and years to come. But with this goodness we find that we are constantly required to maintain and give attention to the most minute of details in order to cause the building to continue to meet that standard. As soon as the paint dries there is a scuff. As soon as the filter is changed it is full. As soon as the dishwasher is installed it starts to deteriorate. The grass never ceases to grow, the landscaping never takes a break from over growing and taking over the yard.

And then after the endless, mindless bills are sent off and the calls are returned and the list of businesses asking for our money are silenced and the pets are cared for and the medicines are taken and the bottomless pile of laundry is somehow clean and dishes are not only washed but put away... when no one is in need of a meal for at least a few hours and toys have been picked up and correspondence has been cared for and somehow we have even found a moment to sweep the cobwebs from the ceiling and wash the windows and have the carpets cleaned... then there are the truly important things that are still left undone.

There are children to teach the way of the Lord. They must have life experiences, they must be taught about their world as it relates to their God. They must have time to spend with their parents playing in the backyard or riding bikes or sharing a game. They must have their talents developed with lessons or play sports on a team. They must know their relatives, they must have friends to spend time with. A husband and wife need to have time to spend with each other lest they become strangers living side by side. And then there is our church family, whom we need to be connected with as much as they need to be connected to us. We must learn to be a part of the body of Christ. We must learn to love others. And we must learn to love our neighbors and coworkers and take the time to know them and pray for them and tell them about the love Jesus has for them.

When all of this is done, there is still the most important part of our lives that has gone uncared for. Our own relationship with our Savior. We must be in His presence, hear His voice through His Word and bring our crazy, busy life before Him to ask Him for strength and wisdom.

Is it any wonder that He said we should "be still, and know He is God?"

This list of responsibilities is in no way exhaustive. All of us could add another blog entry full of things we are responsible to care for. How do we do it? How do we live in this culture and not drown in our concerns?

God gave us just the right amount of hours in the day, days in the week, weeks in the month, and months in the year. He didn't make a mistake. So if we are unable to accomplish everything in the time He has given us, we are the ones that are doing something wrong.

Do I know what it is? No. For me, a method of coping is not fighting the onslaught of commitments. It is in escaping to my imagination by writing or reading of other times and other places, of ideas. It is in letting go the things I didn't get done today that will truthfully not matter in a week or a month or a year. It is in being vigilant about the things that will still be important on my deathbed.

It is somehow fighting the storm of life, pushing against the wind, declaring to everyone vying for my attention, and reciting from the depths of my heart: As the deer pants for streams of water so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

It is in being still and knowing... Him.