Christmas time is here. 2009 continues it's determined departure. Emotions run so high for me during this season, against my will, as though I were in a car going downhill with no brakes, I want to shout NO! STOP! I'm not ready, not enough time, not enough money, didn't get to do all I'd hoped to. I'm reminded of such need among so many and I can't make it better, how I wish there was a way to... if only...
I have a sore throat, no it's not a cold or sinus trouble, it's more like a lump, it's difficult to swallow. My nose is drippy, my eyes seem to have that same condition, and my vision is blurred. The problem is not just in my throat and head, it's in the pit of my stomach, way down deep where the serious issues churn. My thoughts have leaked out of my mind into my stomach, throat and eyes, my heart breaks as I try to grasp and hold what isn't even mine to hold on to. Time, like air impossible to grab ahold of, like water seeping through fingers, just slips away, taking with it opportunities missed.
There are so many "ifs", if only, what if? Just 2 small letters combined to become a word upon which all of life hinges. Everything could change, be something else entirely if... it would all be different had even one if been acted on alternatively. I would not even be me, or you, you, or anyone who they've become if... The intricacies and minutest elements count, everything is significant, everything matters.
Christmas presses me to consider what I've contributed, and what I've taken, and what I will do to improve at this thing called life. Christmas quietly tugs at my heart like a child on his mama's skirt, persistently, longingly, asking me to look into the cradle and see the baby of the first Christmas. The baby who for my sake became poor so that I could become rich. He, Jesus, did not have to leave the splendor of heaven, but He saw me, and you, and His throat hurt, and He ached deep down in the pit of His stomach for wanting to give us everything good, the best life, to know Him and His abundant love, tender mercy, and far reaching compassion, to give us fullness of life. I am compelled to give something of great value in return, and this is the dilemma. I have only this one short life, with all of it's flaws, faults and shortfalls. It seems so inadequate, but it is all He asks me to give. I can, and will make every effort to add value to someone, somewhere, somehow, each day, because He added such great value to me and mine, and offers this to you and yours.
Have you unwrapped this most special gift, and claimed the Christ of Christmas for yourself?
I have a sore throat, no it's not a cold or sinus trouble, it's more like a lump, it's difficult to swallow. My nose is drippy, my eyes seem to have that same condition, and my vision is blurred. The problem is not just in my throat and head, it's in the pit of my stomach, way down deep where the serious issues churn. My thoughts have leaked out of my mind into my stomach, throat and eyes, my heart breaks as I try to grasp and hold what isn't even mine to hold on to. Time, like air impossible to grab ahold of, like water seeping through fingers, just slips away, taking with it opportunities missed.
There are so many "ifs", if only, what if? Just 2 small letters combined to become a word upon which all of life hinges. Everything could change, be something else entirely if... it would all be different had even one if been acted on alternatively. I would not even be me, or you, you, or anyone who they've become if... The intricacies and minutest elements count, everything is significant, everything matters.
Christmas presses me to consider what I've contributed, and what I've taken, and what I will do to improve at this thing called life. Christmas quietly tugs at my heart like a child on his mama's skirt, persistently, longingly, asking me to look into the cradle and see the baby of the first Christmas. The baby who for my sake became poor so that I could become rich. He, Jesus, did not have to leave the splendor of heaven, but He saw me, and you, and His throat hurt, and He ached deep down in the pit of His stomach for wanting to give us everything good, the best life, to know Him and His abundant love, tender mercy, and far reaching compassion, to give us fullness of life. I am compelled to give something of great value in return, and this is the dilemma. I have only this one short life, with all of it's flaws, faults and shortfalls. It seems so inadequate, but it is all He asks me to give. I can, and will make every effort to add value to someone, somewhere, somehow, each day, because He added such great value to me and mine, and offers this to you and yours.
Have you unwrapped this most special gift, and claimed the Christ of Christmas for yourself?
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