“Joy is not necessarily the absence of suffering. It is the presence of God.” ~ Sam Storms
When I was a child, I remember the joy of watching television families celebrate Christmas. I always dreamed of being in one of those families. You know, the “perfect” family. I loved to watch and even feel the joy and closeness the families shared.
In reality, each Christmas, I knew I would have to survive the storm, so the joy of Christmas could arrive. Each year the company my dad worked for would have their Christmas party just two or three days before Christmas. I will just say that my dad always celebrated too much, and when he finally made it home, the storm before Christmas would blow in with a vengeance. My brother, sister, and I would dread the storm, but we always knew it would blow over just before Christmas arrived. Somehow the family always pulled together to imitate the “perfect” family Christmas.
As the years passed, I came to trust that the joy of Christmas could survive through any circumstances. It wasn’t about me finding joy, but rather about realizing that I can’t stop joy from coming to me. It finds me even in the darkness. Mary and Joseph had a quite a long and dark trip to that dingy stable. Yet, even in a stable, enduring difficult circumstances, joy was brought into the world through the gift of our Savior.
Life’s circumstances are not always fair, and the storms of life can break our hearts. Even in our darkest moments our Savior will keep sending us messages of joy even if we don’t feel like receiving them. He will always be arriving in our lives in unexpected places and even when we least expect Him.
I don’t believe the “perfect” family really exists. I’ve yet to meet one. I have however been blessed to know so many families that know how to pull it together because joy refuses to let go of us and is just so beautiful! The presence of God will bring comfort and joy not only at Christmas, but all through the year. We neeed only to get to know Him better and be willing recipients of all He wants to share with us. Yes, joy is truly the presence of God.
Let us pray . . .
Dearest Savior,
Thank you for the daily joy you bring to our lives. Give us hearts to recognize your presence and guidance. Help us be your conduits of joy in other's lives as well.
Amen
Friday, December 8, 2017
Monday, July 17, 2017
Who We Are Now . . .
"God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return." Philippians 1:8-10 NLT
It happens every five years; the class reunion. The class reunion tends to bring about many different emotions. For the extroverts, it's exciting and fun to see everyone again! They laugh and reminisce about the great times they've shared. The introverts, debate until the last minute if they will attend and possibly struggle with the fear and possibility of sitting alone in the corner while watching the extroverts enjoy the evening. Yet, the invitations lay on the counter of both the extroverts and introverts, and something deep inside entices and encourages most from each group to want to reply with a heartfelt yes.
The one thing that both groups have in common is the want to be a part of a community. They want to be integrated into something bigger than themselves. They want to explore the world through the eyes and experiences of those that shared those high school halls together. In reality, I think most would like to sit down and listen to the journeys that have transpired in the years that have passed. Commonality and transparency of who they are now and how they got there would make for great conversations.
Brandon Heath sings a song called, "I'm Not Who I Was." He is having a debate with God about where he was, the journey along the way, and where he is now. Two excerpts from the song go like this:
"I found us in a photograph
I saw me and I had to laugh
You know I'm not who I was
You were there, you were right above me
And I wondered if you ever loved me
Just for who I was"
"I wish you could see me now
I wish I could show you how
I'm not who I was.."
Maybe the real gift of class reunions is remembering who we were, the journey we've traveled, and the blessings of where we are now. Maybe it's an evening to share a little bit of all three parts of our lives. But at the end of the evening, what might be most important is that we all care about each other for who we are now, and together we are thankful to have shared pieces of the journey.
Our relationship with God may resonate like a class reunion. He knows everything we would like to hide away: the heartaches, the disappointments, the mistakes, the things we wish we'd never done or said, or the struggles within that still await. Yet, He wants every reunion with Him to be special and like a new opportunity to get to know the person we've become. He might have a laugh or a few tears with us about days gone by, or tell us to leave tomorrow's worries in His hands, but what He may be most interested in is who we are now, and not who we once were.
Gracious Father,
Thank you for the blessings of those that have been a part of our lives. Thank you for forgiving all our sins of yesterday, today, and tomorrow as you love us for who we are now in this moment.
Amen
If you would like to listen to Brandon Heath's song, here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1ZgtCRO-KY
It happens every five years; the class reunion. The class reunion tends to bring about many different emotions. For the extroverts, it's exciting and fun to see everyone again! They laugh and reminisce about the great times they've shared. The introverts, debate until the last minute if they will attend and possibly struggle with the fear and possibility of sitting alone in the corner while watching the extroverts enjoy the evening. Yet, the invitations lay on the counter of both the extroverts and introverts, and something deep inside entices and encourages most from each group to want to reply with a heartfelt yes.
The one thing that both groups have in common is the want to be a part of a community. They want to be integrated into something bigger than themselves. They want to explore the world through the eyes and experiences of those that shared those high school halls together. In reality, I think most would like to sit down and listen to the journeys that have transpired in the years that have passed. Commonality and transparency of who they are now and how they got there would make for great conversations.
Brandon Heath sings a song called, "I'm Not Who I Was." He is having a debate with God about where he was, the journey along the way, and where he is now. Two excerpts from the song go like this:
"I found us in a photograph
I saw me and I had to laugh
You know I'm not who I was
You were there, you were right above me
And I wondered if you ever loved me
Just for who I was"
"I wish you could see me now
I wish I could show you how
I'm not who I was.."
Maybe the real gift of class reunions is remembering who we were, the journey we've traveled, and the blessings of where we are now. Maybe it's an evening to share a little bit of all three parts of our lives. But at the end of the evening, what might be most important is that we all care about each other for who we are now, and together we are thankful to have shared pieces of the journey.
Our relationship with God may resonate like a class reunion. He knows everything we would like to hide away: the heartaches, the disappointments, the mistakes, the things we wish we'd never done or said, or the struggles within that still await. Yet, He wants every reunion with Him to be special and like a new opportunity to get to know the person we've become. He might have a laugh or a few tears with us about days gone by, or tell us to leave tomorrow's worries in His hands, but what He may be most interested in is who we are now, and not who we once were.
Gracious Father,
Thank you for the blessings of those that have been a part of our lives. Thank you for forgiving all our sins of yesterday, today, and tomorrow as you love us for who we are now in this moment.
Amen
If you would like to listen to Brandon Heath's song, here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1ZgtCRO-KY
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