It's Christmas time again. Time to haul out the boxes that have been stored out of sight for the past year. Time to sort out the decorations and start hanging them around the house in hopes of promoting the "holiday spirit". Time to make lists. Time to bake. Time to remember.
There are many things that get remembered at Christmas time. It is hard to take out the decorations and not think about the last time they adorned our home. Automatically our minds travel the Christmas road back in time. Each ornament that is hung is a reminder of the many changes that have happened throughout the past year.
This year as I rummaged through the Christmas boxes I found myself holding a small manger scene that usually gets put in our kitchen window. What a powerful reminder of what Christmas is. It is about a baby. Jesus. We know the story well. God sent his son as a baby.
As I hold onto that scene, I find myself reflecting on our year as a family. It too has been about a baby. In July we stepped onto a roller coaster. Our third son was born unexpectedly, nine weeks early. The emotions and fears that we had are too difficult to put into words. Yet in the midst of that event, God met us. Daily we were able to see His handiwork as He completed His masterpiece titled "Caleb" Each fragile feature was a mark of His workmanship. Each delicate detail seemed to be a stamp where God inscribed "I know you by name and you, little one, are mine". We were awed as our baby grew eyelashes, eyebrows and fingernails. We were overwhelmed as we witnessed our baby learn to breath, swallow and hold his own. We rejoiced when at last, we took him home.
Our year has been about a baby. As I hold on to the manger scene I know that God has revealed Himself to the entire world through the tiny infant that lays on the straw. The Christmas child was and is a gift from God. Through this gift we experience true blessings.
How quickly we state that our children are gifts from God. They are. However, when I watch our son sleeping peacefully in his cradle I am amazed at how he symbolizes for me what it means to be blessed.. I do not view this little boy as a baby brought to us by God but instead view him as the baby who brought us to God. There is only one word able to describe this feeling. Blessed.
My prayer is that you will be able to dig deep into your Christmas boxes and find the manger scene. Hold onto that scene. Hold onto that child. Feel the gift and receive His blessing. Use that time to ponder your year and discover how He has already blessed you.
"Blessed Christmas"!!
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