Christmas in a Foreign Land
Yes, I am being a little melodramatic. Yes, I have done a little bit of whining. No, it's not really a foreign land. It's just Birmingham!
I am a girl that loves tradition and Christmas seems to be the time of year that screams the loudest for "same-ness" in my life. A few days ago Mother and I were in the car and she said "I just wish I had something familiar." She is struggling to hold onto the familiar but I also related to what she was saying. It is exciting to be at a new place. Everything is fresh and a wide open adventure. But meshing the old with the new is sometimes difficult. Even small things like decorating for Christmas is a challenge. Some stuff doesn't have a place, some stuff doesn't fit in, and some stuff needs a special place.
But isn't that the nature of life? Always changing. Always dealing with change.
Some traditions we take with us everywhere we go, some we leave behind. The important ones we keep. Christmas is about Jesus. Immanuel. God with us! There is no more important thing in life. It is the essence of who we are and why we are here. I think that's why we look for family, those people to which we are closest, to surround us at Christmas time. God taught us so much about Himself with the analogy of family. Celebrating Jesus with them is the desire of the heart.
So today I am thinking about those families who are meshing the old with the new this Christmas. Maybe that is all of us, but some are especially tugging at my heart. The four year old child whose mother will still be in Afghanistan, the young missionary couple who will be with an unreached people group, the Mother and Daddy who lost their child this year, the family dealing with a fresh divorce, and the children whose mother is in prison. Christmas in a foreign land. Unbearable heartache.
I don't understand. But I know who does. Jesus came to earth, fully God and fully man, to bear not just the unbearable heartache but the penalty of my sin. I can't imagine Christmas without Him. Jesus loves me. I know this. He loves you too!
But isn't that the nature of life? Always changing. Always dealing with change.
Some traditions we take with us everywhere we go, some we leave behind. The important ones we keep. Christmas is about Jesus. Immanuel. God with us! There is no more important thing in life. It is the essence of who we are and why we are here. I think that's why we look for family, those people to which we are closest, to surround us at Christmas time. God taught us so much about Himself with the analogy of family. Celebrating Jesus with them is the desire of the heart.
So today I am thinking about those families who are meshing the old with the new this Christmas. Maybe that is all of us, but some are especially tugging at my heart. The four year old child whose mother will still be in Afghanistan, the young missionary couple who will be with an unreached people group, the Mother and Daddy who lost their child this year, the family dealing with a fresh divorce, and the children whose mother is in prison. Christmas in a foreign land. Unbearable heartache.
"Cast all your cares on Him for He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7
Comments