Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Till He Appeared and the soul felt its worth


Birthdays are a time of reflection.

My birthday is coming up in a week or so and I always think about my years in the past and where I have been and marvel at how old I am!! ha! Especially the older I get.  And I wonder what my life will be like in a few years.

When my children have birthdays, I always spend time right before their big day looking back at old pictures and videos of them.  I love remembering them as babies and toddlers.  I love telling old stories about them and laughing and thinking about how much they have changed and how much they have grown.  It's a time to really focus on them and what their lives mean to me and all the special things about them.  I love to reminisce about all my special moments with them over the years.

Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus.  And I can't help but sing Christmas carols and look at nativities and read the story of His birth in the Gospels and think about what His life means.  When I think about what Jesus has done for me I don't think about material things.  I think about how He came to live as a man and feel all the things we do.  I think about how He died a very painful death on the cross to take on our sin and take our place.

I am thankful for how He has blessed me with a sweet family and a home and health.  But I also think about how He was with me when times were not easy.  I think of when I was single and lonely or when it took years to have a baby or when Harper was so sick in the hospital or how He gave me peace when I had anxiety or other personal trials and how those were the times that He drew me the closest to Him and when I felt Him the most.

His birthday means more to me than all my birthdays or my kids' birthdays combined.  His birthday was a gift to all of us. His birth was supernatural and miraculous.  It was predicted thousands of years before He came.  It was humble and quiet.  It was the beginning of a shift in sacrifice.  His birth meant our eternity was changed just by our faith and belief rooted in grace and mercy too magnificent to understand.

So as I think about Christmas coming in less than two weeks - I'm trying to not only have fun with my family and enjoy the lights and the fun and the presents and the joy of the season - but I'm reflecting on what Jesus and His life and His birth and His death mean.  And I don't want to miss the magnitude of it all.  Or the wonder.

His birth reminds me that this earth is not my home.  And while I love this life I have, there is something so much greater waiting for me.  And my prayer is that I will celebrate Christmas in Heaven with you one day.



Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new glorious morn

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