Merry Christmas to you and yours! As I post this, the big day is just around the corner, and anticipation is high. Judging from the crowded streets and stores over the weekend, people are out and about getting ready to make merry for a few days. Many are trying to choose the perfect gift for each person on their list, which is not an easy task. We want to get something fun and useful, beautiful and meaningful, unexpected and delightful all wrapped in one gift that will be a joy to open and a continued blessing all year long—does such a perfect gift even exist? It does, and the giving of this tremendous Gift is truly reason for celebration! Let me share some recent thoughts with you... We just celebrated Thanksgiving, and now round the bend of the year into what is arguably the most wonderful time of the year. My husband made a wise suggestion decades ago, correctly sensing that I could easily get out of hand with decorating, and proposed that in our home we could wait until after the Thanksgiving dishes have been put away to start decorating for Christmas. I agreed and this has been a good rule for me, otherwise I might put up my tree in July, so deep is my love for this holiday. Making myself wait and letting the anticipation build helps me to truly cherish the season, keeping it fresh and potent in my heart. What other time of the year can you walk through Walmart and hear songs about such tremendous spiritual truths—the incarnation, justification, salvation, the deep and wondrous love of God? It is a beautiful, special time, and I love it more and more the older I get. I still remember the very first Christmas after I truly gave my heart to Jesus, when I was in college. I went home to visit my parents who had moved to the other side of the country thanks to the Navy, so nothing was familiar to me at all except for them. But that was all the sweeter. I felt like George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life, after his waking dream; just being with the people I loved most in the world suddenly had such a new and amazing importance to me. Singing the songs and carols that I had sung and heard my whole life suddenly pierced my heart to the very depth. The great meaning of what we were singing just washed over me and I cried through every church service, not sad but grateful, happy tears. I think I understood for the first time what a tremendous reality it is that the Lord of heaven and earth left glory to come here to be with us. It is truly amazing! I recently heard someone pose the question of what we picture when we think of God, and thought that was an important question. Our own experience with an earthly father can color this mental exercise in a strong way. Is He far away, a Zeus-like figure in an enormous, cold throne room? This is the picture so many might have of God, which causes a lot of heartache and grief. How can we possibly approach such a deity? But this is the wonder and beauty of Christmas: God is not like that at all. Rather, He is the kind of Father who will get right down on the floor with you, letting you rest your head on His strong arm. He comes down to us! Another name for Jesus is Emmanuel, which means God With Us. One of the earliest explanations I heard as a young believer for what the word incarnation really means has stuck with me. The person explaining it to me said, “you know, carne, like the Spanish word for meat! Jesus came down and got into some flesh." That certainly was a striking illustration, and it’s true. Jesus came down and took on flesh, became flesh, and walked among us. He suffered like we do in this broken, messy world, and went through all of the temptations that we do. He became one of us, and the more you think about that the more it will just blow your mind. God became flesh. And not only that, but He wants to be with us still. Through His sacrifice, Jesus made a way for all of us to be as close to the Father as we will. We can ask the Lord of heaven and earth to come and dwell in our hearts, and He does by the power of the Holy Spirit. All day every day, God with us. God in us, God working through us—what an incredible gift! Further, I’m understanding more all the time what a gift just being together is. I believe this is another powerful piece of what the Incarnation means: because Jesus came, we can be reconciled to Him, and also to one another. There truly can be peace on earth, and it begins in our hearts and in our homes. We had four generations together at Thanksgiving, and I marvel at how wonderful it is that my grandchildren get to know their great-grandparents in a real way. The day after that I was able to travel with my parents to a memorial service for my aunt, who has gone to be with Jesus. It was so good to see my cousins and my aunts and uncles, and all of the new generations that are coming behind us. Just to be together in the same room, sharing stories and memories and happy times and lovely thoughts with one another was so encouraging to all of us, and I realized in a fresh way just what it means that we all will get to be together forever in heaven because we know and love Jesus. We won't just get to be with God forever, we will also be with one another forever! For now we will miss Aunt Glenda, which was my name for her, and to others she was sister, mother, grandmother, friend—an important part of so many lives. We will miss her until we see her again, but there will be no more goodbyes in heaven. Thank God for the gift of the Incarnation! So this Christmas, as you put up your tree and deck the halls and do all of the wonderful and busy things that you’re likely to do, take some time to ponder what a gift it is that Jesus has come to be with us. He is Emmanuel, the God that wants a relationship with us, and gave His own life to make it happen. Reflect on the gift that family and friends are, and make room in your heart for gratitude, goodwill, and peace among one another. Pause and listen with fresh ears and an open heart to the words of those beautiful Christmas carols, which proclaim the tremendous story of Jesus. Take some time to share the news of this wondrous gift to the new generations in your gatherings, how amazing it is that Emmanuel has come! I encourage you not to give into the world's idea of complaining about yet another holiday gathering, or griping about people in your family with whom you have different views or grievances. Instead, let your heart be filled with the grace and mercy of Christ, and let it spill over on to all that you are around this season. May the love and peace of Jesus fill your home and fill your heart afresh this Christmas—merry Christmas from my heart to yours! Lots of fun stories are coming in of people enjoying my new book, Friday Night on the Frio River—get your print copy or ebook today!
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Hi! I'm Mary - mother to two wonderful grown daughters, wife to an incredible husband, and loving our life in the piney woods of Texas... (read more!)
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January 2025
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