The holidays* can be a time of mixed emotions for many. This year is no exception for us. I’m a very
sentimental person at heart and love holiday traditions. I enjoy the
decorations, the special services at church, family get-togethers, the cookies…
J. I love memories and
symbolism attached to our various ornaments, and though sometimes stressful on
the wallet, I enjoy finding gifts for my loved ones. I don’t always enjoy
however the business, our cultures over-commercialization and materialism,
missing loved ones who’ve passed away, kids whining that they didn’t get as
many presents as someone else, and the sometimes awkward family moments. This
is not foreign to most of you, the tug on your emotions, and the battle for
your time and attention between so many activities and opportunities that are
all good – but we just can’t do it all. Many experience loneliness, others
regret… The holidays and our emotions can be much like the weather in Ohio –
ever changing and never sure what to expect!
This year we’ve added a small stocking with a B on it for
our Brody. We also want to get an ornament for him each year. This is his first
Christmas… and only. We will enjoy feeling him move – Jeremiah can feel his
kicks all the time now. J
I think of how he is safe and warm, free from the stresses of this time of
year, unconcerned with these mixed emotions.
He is often quite active between 4 and 6 am. Sometimes I’ll get up and “rock”
him. I hug my belly and sway and find myself thankful to be awake with him… and
I love my sleep and am quite protective of it even! He’s still responding to
music – especially when I sing and play at church. This Sunday I sang with my
praise team girls a song from Mary’s perspective, “Hallelujah, Light has Come”,
and it was almost hard to concentrate as he kicked along with the music. I’m
still teaching Zumba thanks to my awesome teaching partner! Brody man often
becomes quite active on my drive home from the studio. I’m thankful to be feeling quite healthy at
33 weeks. I have plenty of aches and pains, especially in my back, ribs, and I
get ligament pulls around my belly during Zumba, but my Dr. said everything looks
great and the fact that I can still Zumba is wonderful (seriously a life-saver
for me!). J There is just so much to thank God for! You, my family and friends, have been
amazing. I completely understand that it’s
hard to know what to say… or whether to say anything… but Jeremiah and I both
have been so blessed by your love, prayers, cards, gifts, and words of
encouragement.
This Christmas as I hear messages about Mary, and songs that
make you think about her part in the story, I feel a strange and different sort
of connection. I’ve heard several times “giving birth to a baby destined to die”…
and other similar phrases… and I know we’re talking about the Hope of a baby
born to give us life through His death… but I feel a twinge of pain at the
commonalities. We too are waiting to give birth to a baby destined to die. I
know ultimately we all are… and of course I’m not trying to equate Brody to
Jesus… but yet, there are some similarities that bring me joy and hope. Jesus’
birth, life, death, and resurrection were all for the glory of God. He chose
out of His love to provide us a way to salvation. Only He could do it, and He
should receive all the glory for His perfect will and plan. We know Brody is no
exception to God’s perfect plan, and that ultimately his life will bring glory
to God. My brother has been sending us devotionals He is writing. He pointed
out in one that we as parents often place our hope in our children. We are all
sinners however and eventually disappoint. He wrote of Adam and Eve, “Adam and
Eve quickly picked up on the promise implied in Genesis 3:15. There would be a
“seed” or offspring from the woman who would crush the head of the serpent. Eve
rightly gives credit to where credit is due. “God helped me give birth to a
man.”(Gen.4:1). There was rightly lots of hope placed on their firstborn son.
But, their hopes in their son are quickly dashed as he murders his younger
brother. He is not the son who restored their life-bringing relationship with
God.” He later explains, “We too are
given glimmers of hope, and we are right to have hope in the birth of our
children… to a degree. The birth that we ought to truly put our hope in is a
birth that has already happened. For in that birth Hope came to the world. A younger
brother has already been born, the Son who is murdered by his brothers. But His blood speaks a better message than
Abel’s does (Hebrews 12:24). Our Hope has already been born.”
As we celebrate the birth of Jesus this year, let us
remember the cost, remember that we are sinners who would otherwise be hopeless,
remember that this is the most important birth we could ever celebrate. Our
hope is born in a helpless baby; a promise is given that this life is not all
there is. Our pains, our loss, our mixed emotions during the holidays, are
nothing compared to the peace and hope given by God through the gift of His
Son. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet
inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles
are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on
what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
II Corinthians 4:16-18
*No, I’m not being politically correct, I say ‘holidays’
meaning Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years… I’m definitely a “Merry Christmas”
person. J
No comments:
Post a Comment