Almost Christmas

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  Sleigh bells, silver bells, jingle bells, shopping, baking, Elf movie parties, White Elephant parties, Christmas carols, Santa Claus and mistletoe and presents to pretty girls...Christmas!  Who doesn't love Christmas?  And if even Scrooge and the Grinch can warm up to Christmas, anyone can.  For most of us, when we were younger, it never came soon enough.  Even now, I still realize how soon it is and simultaneously realize how long I still have to wait.

You may be familiar with The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis.  (If not, you now have books to read over Christmas break!)  In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Mr. Tumnus the Faun tells Lucy Pevensie that the White Witch has made it always winter and never Christmas.  All of Narnia had been waiting for Christmas for 100 years.

That is a long time, by the way.  It may feel like 100 years until Christmas, but remember: we never have to wait more than 365 days for Christmas.  I don't like waiting, especially not for a whole century!

Anyway, Narnia was eternally cold and dark and wet and unpleasant.  There were no Christmas lights, carols, or cookie exchanges.  Just winter, snow, and icicles.  It was under the White Witch's control, and no one liked it.  Aslan was away.  It seemed as if winter would last forever.

Honestly though, it doesn't sound so different from our world today.  Where I live, we get about two inches of snow every three years.  It is hovering in the 40 and 50 degrees.  So it isn't  that it's cold all the time.  It is the fact that our world is not like it should be.  Disease, disaster, and death are rampant.  I don't think you could live under a rock and not get some idea of how bad it is.

Winter is cold and harsh and bleak, an apt metaphor for our world today.  And, whether or not Jesus was actually born in the winter season, he came into a winter world as a vulnerable baby.  And that was Christmas.  Israel had been waiting for Christmas for a long time (longer than even Narnia, by the way), and it had finally come...in a stable in Bethlehem.

But it is still winter.  The depravity of mankind seems worse than ever.  Christ's short 33 years on earth didn't seem to have changed much.  Certainly, those of us who have put our trust in Him have had our lives changed, even if the world's condition hasn't, by hope.

Hope.  That is what Narnia--and we--must cling to during this dark and dismal winter. Christmas is coming.  All the bad in this world--the flu, death, human trafficking, cancer, heartbreak--is going to be washed away.  Christmas will come and the world will be made new.  Winter trees will blossom, snow-covered fields will be thick with grass, frozen rivers will burst forth, and the sun will shine.  But more than than, Jesus will be here.  Emmanuel.  God with us.

And all the suffering, all the pain, all the cruelty, all the heartbreak, all the death...it will be gone.  More than that, it will be glorified in you.  Hold on to that precious promise.  Winter is almost over.  Aslan (Jesus) is on the move.  Christmas is coming.

Merry Christmas!

Shifting Sand

Two weeks ago, I discovered that one of the pillars in my life is about to follow God's call to ministry and move away.  When she told us, I was shocked and devastated.  How would life go on?  Her life and ministry has affected me in more ways than I can count, and I know there will be a gaping hole in my heart when she leaves.  I am so happy for her to be able to follow her passion, but personally, I'm miserable. 

I tossed and turned in bed that night, unable to sleep with so much on my mind.  But now I realize that, if God is calling her away, He will provide for those of us left behind.  He has the best in mind...for ALL of us.  He has amazing plans for her in her new ministry.  And He has amazing plans for the rest of us.  Not that we aren't going to miss her like CRAZY!  We will.

This is a good reminder that we are not walking by sight.  I cannot see around the bend of the path to where God will provide for us.  I worry about how normal life can continue.

But I have to trust that Christ is a solid rock for me to stand on.  Really, while depending on others is a natural and necessary part of life, we can't forget that Christ is our solid ground and all other ground is sinking sand.  Even those "pillars" in our life we never dreamed we could (or would ever have to!) live without are nothing if not grounded on Christ; and even if they are, they are still human, still make mistakes, still let you down, and still move away...even if they don't mean to.

It is so hard to see in the dark.  There are twists and turns ahead, and I know there are going to be many hard days when we just don't know how we will function.  She has headed up so many things, and now it is up to us to lead them...and we don't feel like we are strong enough to take over.  But we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

For those who are reeling from devastating news, these words may seem like empty promises, nice things to say that ought to make us feel better but really don't.  We know they should.  We know the Holy Comforter is with us.  But sometimes it doesn't seem like enough.

So I encourage you to look back.  Try to identify at least one time in which you thought your world was falling apart--this will be easy for some of you and harder for others and that's okay.  Then fast-forward a little.  Look at how God got you through, even if you didn't see it at the time.  I've done this and it is amazing how He has taken care of me.  You may be familiar with the Footprints in the Sand Poem.  I feel like it communicates so clearly how we get so lost in our troubles that we don't see Christ carrying us. 

It isn't easy to see things like this when life doesn't go our way or totally takes a nosedive.  Although our dearly-loved friend and leader has yet to leave us, we know that day is coming and it is going to hurt.  A lot.  But ultimately, I take comfort in God's promise that He will never leave us or forsake us, that He will provide when it seems there is no one to help us, that He will be with us.  Because when God promises us something, He always fulfills.