I get pretty sentimental around Christmas time. Actually I'm pretty sentimental all year long but I get extra, extra sentimental during the holidays.
I start thinking about my life and all the incredible things I've been blessed with. I begin thinking of those who have passed on before me and are waiting for me up in Heaven. While I want to spend as much time as I possibly can here on Earth, there is a part of me that is eager to get up to Heaven so that I can be with those precious people again.
I think about my Earthly relationships here with friends and family. Amazing, generous, loving parents. Incredible in-laws. A wonderful husband. Two children who bring incredible joy each and every day. A fantastic sister. An amazing brother-in-law. And precious, dear friends.
I also love this time of year because I get to bring out all the Nativity sets that I've been collecting over the years. I set them up all around my house. Now they are for decorating but when my kiddos were younger, they would play with all the pieces. I fondly remember precious Robby staging a million army men around the stable and then heard him yelling, "DON'T SHOOT THE BABY!" What a sweet memory. :)
Each time I'm setting up these nativity sets, I begin thinking about all the different characters and the important roles they all played. The angel, Gabriel, whom God sent to Mary to tell her that she would become pregnant with God's precious son, Jesus.
Then there's sweet Mary. She heard this news and was throughly shaken. Can you imagine? You knew in your heart that you had never been "inappropriate" with anyone and now you are going to be pregnant with a baby? Pregnant with God's baby? I don't know about you but throughly shaken would have probably been an understatement for me. This virgin Mary would give birth to a beautiful miracle. A perfect boy who would be sin-free his entire life. Given to us to show us how to walk perfectly in love with one another. After a little assurance, Mary said, "I am the Lord's maid and I am ready to serve." Amazing. I'm not sure I would be quite that brave. I'd be so worried about what my friends and/or my family had to say about this "miraculous" impregnation. Who would believe me? But brave Mary didn't care. She was ready to do whatever God instructed her to do.
And Joseph. Wow. What a stand up guy. The Bible says that Joseph was ready to marry Mary, a pregnant girl who he had not had relations with, so that she would not be disgraced. Again, what were his friends saying about his decision? I'm imagining, "Dude! What are you thinking?!"
And I'm thinking of this journey that the two of them made in the dark, in the middle of the night, RIDING A DONKEY! When I went into labor, I did a bunch of complaining. I complained about the air temperature in the car. I complained about the way my husband was driving. "You're driving too fast. Now you're driving too slow. You picked the bumpiest road in Houston on purpose. Did you call ahead and tell them that we wanted a private room? NOW YOU'RE YELLING AT ME AND I'M ABOUT TO HAVE YOUR BABY!!!!" Precious hubby doesn't call it complaining. He calls it %#^&ing. Rhymes with itching. So I wonder if Mary, after traveling all that way, ever lost her cool or complained about the circumstance, her "ride" or her dark, dingy, smelly accommodations. She was in a barn for goodness sake! Did Joseph ever fuss back saying, "Listen lady I'm trying my best! I'm not even the baby's daddy!"
Then we find the shepherds. Out in the fields in the middle of nowhere. Pitch black, dark night. Then all of a sudden with an incredible blaze. The brightest light. God' angel appears. These were some of the bravest men who fought lions and bears with a staff and a slingshot. And they were terrified. But the angel said to them "Do not be afraid," and they gave the shepherds the amazing news of Christ's birth. Then, as if that one angel wasn't enough to scare the dickens out of the poor shepherds, God sent a CHOIR of angel to sing of the good news. Can you imagine? If I was out in a pasture in the middle of nowhere and this heavenly host of angels sang to me, I'd have to wonder if I was sick or seeing things. But the shepherds were so excited to see the baby Jesus and spread the news of his birth that they went running to Bethlehem.
The Wise Men of the East saw a star and went to worship this newborn King. They were "scholars" and were considered the brightest of the bright. Clearly they knew this was a big, amazing deal. When Herod heard these scholars were going to see the baby Jesus, he was terrified. The smartest people he knew were going to travel miles and miles and miles to worship a baby King! Herod was scared! He asked the Wise Men to report back to him so that Herod could have the exact location of the baby. The Wise Men agreed. They took symbolic presents to honor the new baby. God however appeared to the men in a dream and they decided to take another route home in order to avoid Herod.
So with all these characters in our story, can you imagine how it would have turned out if just one character didn't do his/her part? If one person said No?
What an amazing gift God gave to us on the first Christmas. A beautiful baby boy. Made perfect to walk in an imperfect world so that we all could be saved from sin. So how can we ever repay God or give Him an equally amazing gift?
The only thing God wants is YOU. He wants you. You. YOU. He wants your whole heart. He wants you to make good choices. He wants you to ask for forgiveness when you've gone astray. He wants you to give forgiveness to others. God wants you to love and show love. He wants you to pray, to trust, to be an example of Christ's love. God wants you to show grace and give grace just as He gives grace to you.
Do this this Christmas but try to do it each and every day throughout the year too. Christmas all year long. :)
Merry Christmas, friends and Happy Birthday to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
