Christmas 2021

                                                                 Merry Christmas 

Friends, it has definitely been another strange year and still nobody seems to know where we are heading or how to fix things. Many of us find ourselves feeling overwhelmed by hopelessness, despair and sadness for the loss of what used to be. How appropriate that in the middle of all these things that are out of my control the Lord brings my eyes to focus on the important things; my family, my home, my friends and the most importantly... himself. 

With those things in mind I pressed on and readied our home for the celebration of the birth of Christ Jesus. 

Do you choose a theme every year? I chose my theme for 2021 at the end of 2020. I do that so that I can take advantage of after-Christmas sales and clearances. Last year I was feeling nostalgic and this year even more so. I decided to use my collection of nutcrackers; some old, some new. In November I dug out my nutcrackers and plaid & red velvet ribbon and then Mister and I promptly proceeded to get sick.... like cancel Thanksgiving sick and everything was on hold for 2 whole weeks!

 It took the wind out of our sails but we pressed on.

With age I have come to understand the sentiment behind the words of my mother and grandmother and probably most women with adult children

.

What I truly want for Christmas isn't from a store. I don't care if there aren't presents under the tree for me. I just want my children around me and my husband to curl up next to. I can't wish the world back to how I used to see it. But how it is now should not (will not) rob me of my joy. My joy can't be picked out from a catalog or purchased with a credit card. 

My joy, not silly and goofy slap-stick happiness, but a peace-filled and abiding joy that does not disappoint comes from knowing the One we are preparing to celebrate. 

"So, who is this One and why do we celebrate him?", you ask?

 I wrote this a few years ago and was so thankful when it popped up in my memories this week.

 I pray it blesses you.  

Christmas is about Jesus, the Christ of God.

He did not come wrapped in beautiful wrapping or decorated in the finest array. He was wrapped in rags; swaddling clothes. He did not lay his tiny, magnificent head on a soft bed in a king's nursery but rather in a trough that was meant to feed animals. There was no pomp initiated by the rulers of the day to welcome this prophesied Savior. There was only a young mother and her husband that knew he was not the father of this baby..... and all the heavenly host! It was they who preached to the shepherds in the fields. The shepherds rushed to see this thing the angels had declared to them. They saw the Promise of the Father! They saw, with eyes of faith, the One who would secure for them a righteousness that could never be earned-the perfection that God, the Father, requires for entrance into the gates of heaven.

Wouldn't it be so sweet if that were the whole of the story?

But, Scripture tells us more. We are told that not only can we not keep the law of God perfectly but that we don't even desire to...in fact, we break the laws of God regularly and willfully and that is called sin. Scripture also tells us the wages of sin is death and that EVERYONE has sinned. Death is not merely a physical death, which is the evidence of our sin, but also a spiritual death that separates us from the Almighty-without exception. We are bankrupt and without hope.

But God....being great in mercy sent his Son, in the form of man, to live according to all the law of God-perfectly. And here is the hard thing to remember: that baby lying in a manger, represented so sweetly in my nativity...he came to die ... not because of sin he committed but because of mine and yours. The Father poured out his wrath for our sin on his own Son! The death of Jesus satisfied the penalty for the sin of all those who would believe in him. And we know that it was an acceptable sacrifice because God, the Father raised him from the dead.

That is still not enough, though.

Remember, we have to be perfect to see heaven. A paid debt does not wipe away the fact that we had a debt or that I continue to break God's laws thus accumulating more debt. And here is the "ah-ha" that brought me a peace that knows no limits, remember the perfect life Jesus lived? He gave that to me. He wrapped me in his righteousness and presents me to the Father as his bride, clothed in white, without spot or wrinkle or blemish and I am accepted.

That is Christmas. Maybe that is why I am so enamored with the idea of white and shiny Christmas decor. Maybe that is why I would like it to look perfect and peaceful.... and maybe it is such an unattainable goal for me because that perfection has already been accomplished. It did not come wrapped in gold and silver, velvet or silk....just rags and immeasurable love.

(2015)

Merry Christmas

linking to these parties: Blue Sky At Home, Our Hopeful Home, Shabby Art Boutique