You know that feeling …
The one that happens like clockwork. It typically pops up out of nowhere, and you have a hard time putting words to what is happening inside of you. You feel anxious and afraid. Or, you feel unsettled and uncertain. You may even feel deep joy but you’re wondering how long it will last.
Christmastime is my favorite time of year. I love being with family and friends. I love our church’s yearly Christmas Eve Gatherings. I love living in such a cute town where we might get a white Christmas and the lights are flickering wherever you go. You can see Christmas trees through windows, and you walk in a friends’ house and smell Christmas cookies baking. You just want to soak it all up and put it in a mason jar to take with you.
At the same time, there are challenges of Christmas that happen every year, too. You feel the sadness of someone you love not sitting around the table with you. You may feel the disappointment of what you hoped this year would bring, and it didn’t. You know another year is around the corner, and you are still adjusting to the realities of this past year. Do you know what I’m talking about?
In all honesty, 2024 has been filled with joy for me. God answered a lot of prayers and provided for me in numerous ways. And, still, I know those hard-to-name-uncertain-what-they-are feelings too well. They begin surfacing this time of year, and my heart just wants to push them way down so they don’t get any air. But, as I sit in my pajamas with a napping dog and my wooden Nativity reflecting from the window, I am reminded of the humanity, authenticity, vulnerability, and rawness of that very first Christmas.
In the greatest act of empathy, the God of the Universe sent His son to be born to Mary, a teenage virgin and Joseph, a simple carpenter, in the very humble town of Bethlehem in a dirty stable. The scene is hard to even wrap my head around, but it fills me with such great hope because it reminds me that no matter what I feel this year, God is mindful of me. The words of Mary’s song resound loudly:
“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.
Luke 1:46-48a
No matter where you are this Christmas, remember that God came to you – in your mess, in your uncertainties, in your unknown feelings – so that you might experience His love and grace. May we relish in that truth this season and treasure it in our hearts.
