I think of my daughter, son-in-law and my two grandchildren. I imagine their home right now is busy! Children so excited to open presents. I love to watch people open presents.
Christmas traditions are fun. Wonderful in fact. God too loves to give gifts!
He gives us as many gifts as we can handle. He loves to see His children loving Him and enjoying the gifts He gives. It is His delight. James 1:17 reminds us "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights".
There are times, though, that it is hard to see the gifts we are given because of tragedy and loss. It is hard in fact, sometimes, to be joyful, to get "into the spirit" of Christmas. Those times are when we need to really remember what it is this day stands for.
It is the day set aside to remind us that Christ Jesus came to earth as a helpless baby -- to the world his birth was insignificant and not at all the way the world does things. How can a baby be the answer?
Jennifer Kennedy Dean writes this:
"Then Christ came. Barely a ripple in the course of human kinds doings, yet one that reverberated through the heavenly realms. With a battle cry that sounded to earthly ears like a newborn baby's whimper. He set in motion our redemption. That sound heard in the heavens that first Christmas moment was a victory shout that rattled the enemy's forces and ensured their defeat."
Yes, we will, even on Christmas, feel grief and loss and sadness and pain. But that is not the end of the story. God calls us to believe and wait for Him to come through. His plan is being played out in all the corners of the universe, in your life and in mine.
Think about when you were a small child - waiting for something you were eager to receive was HARD! So hard. But you learned how. You knew it would arrive. Our lives from the moment we are conceived, are filled with lesson and lesson of learning to wait. This is by design. Learning to wait in anticipation, in expectation of God coming through has many promises attached to it in the Word of God. D internet search about waiting on God. For those who learn to wait on God treasures abound!
If you are grieving right now, let Jesus grieve with you. Ride out the wave. If you are suffering loss, realize that is not the end. If you are in a tight spot, realize God has answers for you. If this Christmas isn't what you had hoped, remember that God comes to us as a tiny helpless baby which seems like a very stupid and risky plan according to world thought.
God NEVER works like the world system works. He NEVER does things the way we assume He will. He will come in unexpected and quiet ways that will astound and amaze.
Yes, even (and especially) for you.