May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. – Romans 15:13
It is said that good things come in small packages. I’m not sure about the validity of that statement, but I do know that the best gifts are the ones that I call “unwrapped presents”. I’m referring to presents that can’t be gift wrapped and put under a Christmas tree.
After my youngest son graduated from high school, he decided to join the Air Force. Elijah was stationed miles from home, so for Christmas he planned to celebrate with us by telephone. The family was gathered around the tree in the living room when he called, but as I was talking with him the doorbell rang. A little perturbed, I questioned who would be coming to see us on Christmas morning! I kept talking on the phone to Elijah as I went to answer the door and was shocked to find myself talking to him face to face! He had called us from our front porch and surprised us all by coming home! I don’t remember anything else I got for Christmas that year, but I do remember that my son came home. It was the best present I received!
One year my other son, Greg, wrapped up a litter box and gave it to me for Christmas. I wept when I realized what it was. The gift wasn’t the litter box. It was the kitten that would be coming later. But to me the gift went even beyond that. I realized that this was not just a gift from my son, but it included my husband’s approval as well, because he did not like cats. (Or so he claimed.) This gift from my son was also a gift of my husband’s love for me. His love could not be wrapped up as a present, but I was totally aware of the ‘unwrapped present’ that he was giving me that Christmas morning.
But the best unwrapped present I ever received was a gift from God. The Bible calls it an “indescribable gift.” God’s gift came naked into this world and died naked on the cross. It can’t be bought or boxed up with a pretty bow on top, because “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) This is not the kind of gift that we grasp with our hands, but rather we receive it with our heart. God offers His gift to us with love. He gives it to us with grace and mercy when we accept it by faith. “For by grace you have been saved through faith…it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8) And here’s the exciting part! He offers this gift to everyone! It’s yours if you want it.
God’s gift doesn’t come in a pretty package. It can’t be seen or handled or opened, but God’s ‘unwrapped present’ is the best gift you will ever receive! Have you accepted the gift that God has for you?
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. –John 3:16
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Moving isn’t easy. When my daughter and her family moved from New York to Minnesota, my granddaughter struggled. The day they left, they came to see me one more time and to say their goodbyes. My seven year old granddaughter clung to me and whispered imploringly in my ear, “I don’t want to!” I responded with “I know” and I assured her that it would be okay.
Sometimes I don’t want to either. I have had to move several times. The more difficult moves were leaving the churches and the people my husband and I had pastored to go to a new place of ministry. I remember on one occasion sobbing in the car and tearfully saying, “I can’t believe it’s over!” –the equivalent of saying, “I don’t want to.” But the most difficult move of all was when my husband unexpectedly passed away. I had to leave the home and life we had shared, and go on without him. My heart silently shouted, “I DON’T WANT TO!”
I’m not talking about the “I don’t want to” that is a defiant declaration of rebellion and stubbornness, but rather the cry that comes from fear and anxiety. Sometimes we are faced with changes in our lives that are out of our control and we just don’t know how we can go on. The loss of a spouse, the death of a child, a change in employment, or a dreaded diagnosis can lead us to despair and desperation. And we just don’t want it to be true!
But there is Someone we can go to, cling to, and cry to. We can lean into the arms of God and freely tell Him, “I don’t want to.” And He will respond with a gentle, “I know.” But with God there is more!! He not only understands and comforts, He goes with us!! If we lean on Him and trust in Him, He promises to be with us and to help us. No matter the circumstances or changes we are facing, God is right there, too!
Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. –Joshua 1:9 (NLT)
For God has said, ‘I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.’Sowe can say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear.’ –Hebrews 13:5,6 (NLT)
Be assured, if you walk with Him and look to Him and expect help from Him, He will never fail you. –George Mueller
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The popular Christmas song It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year has a line in it that declares, “It’s the hap-happiest season of all.” But apparently that’s not actually true. Statistically, America’s most favorite season of the year is autumn. There’s something about the sweater weather, pumpkin spice everything, and the colorful fall foliage that people really appreciate and enjoy. But I am not one of those people. I have a tendency to view autumn as an omen of what is to come–a long cold, snowy winter.
I must admit that this year the fall season was especially enjoyable. It was warm, sunny and bright. The leaves seemed more colorful than usual with varying shades of red and orange and golden yellow.
This tree was absolutely beautiful! But then something happened! The colorful leaves did not stay. One by one they fell to the ground until nothing remained on the tree. All that was left on the tree were bare branches. Not so pretty now, is it?
Photos by Eva Marie Husted
Why do the leaves have to fall off anyway? I did a little research. Obviously, they fall for a reason. Without getting into all the science behind it, simply stated, it’s for the sake of the tree and in preparation for that cold and snowy winter that lies ahead. Without the leaves, the tree is able to retain the water it needs during the winter months which reduces the amount of energy the tree needs to survive. And those bare branches are no longer weighted down with leaves and are able to withstand the snowfalls that come with the winter season. Even the fallen leaves serve a purpose as they give nutrients to the soil. Barren seasons do have purpose.
Every season has its purpose. Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” And verse 11 declares, “He [God] has made everything beautiful in its time.” But let me clarify. Certainly this is true of the seasons found in nature, but more importantly it is also true concerning the seasons of our individual lives. This chapter in Ecclesiastes gives us a glimpse of some of the seasons we encounter in living.
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what was planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to gain, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. –Ecclesiastes 3:2-8
Some seasons of life are easier than others. It is difficult to see the purpose or benefit of a “barren season” in life. When we face loss and sorrow, we feel stripped bare and vulnerable. Like the bare branches of a tree, our foliage has fallen off and we feel exposed and ugly and useless. What good can there possibly be in this horrible time of life?! Could it be that God is preparing us for a season yet to come? Could it be He is actually strengthening us or even protecting us? Our difficult seasons are made easier to bear when we learn to trust that God is working in our lives for a purpose and for our benefit.
In her book, Anonymous, Alicia Britt Chole makes a similar comparison. Referring to the silver maple that grows in her yard she writes:
Bare, her lean limbs can support the coming snow and ice. But that weight would be too much for her frame in all its fullness. Lighter is better for the deep work of winter. So she bows. She bends. She surrenders to thinning and in doing so thickens her foundation for an even more glorious summer to come. In the same way, submission to God’s seasons will be our saving strength. To resist thinning is to risk collapse. The future is weighty, capable of crushingthe unprepared.
As we go through the barren seasons of our life, there is a calm assurance that comes when we trust God, knowing He is always faithful to provide strength and grace in our time of need, knowing He is always working on our behalf even in those times of great loss. Only God knows what the future holds and He lovingly prepares us for the next season of our life.
A poem to ponder:
A Measure of Grace
Deciduous trees are finally “baring it all” in defiance of the coming winter. Soon they’ll be stark naked, without leaves on their branches to catch any frigid gusts. True, they might freeze—I’ve seen it happen before—but this baring removes much of the potential risk of broken limbs, along with other things that might hinder Their successful passage through the cold, through the long nights, through the blind icy thrusts That seem to come from everywhere in the darkest time of the calendar here in the northern half of the world. It’s those blind icy thrusts that I and all of us need to learn not to fear. They’re the unexpected moments for which the deciduous trees, and we, need to prepare in order to find new buds, new chances, new vistas unfurled That we may not even understand at first but will be revealed to us as this creaky old year Stumbles fitfully away and a new one crawls in on hands and knees, not yet able to speak but with its message in its tiny little hands tightly curled. It’s waiting to pass that message to us at the appropriate time, in the appropriate way, in the appropriate place… Provided we’ve rested, healed, learned the lessons of the blind icy thrusts, embraced the dark, and achieved from doing all that—as most deciduous trees do—a measure of grace.
by Ben Neideigh
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My two youngest grandbabies are close in age. Born a few months apart, they are both somewhere midway between the age of one and two. They are discovering more about themselves and learning to communicate. They are both learning the names of their body parts and it’s a fun game to play with them. Willow, who is actually my great granddaughter, is quite exuberant about it. She grins with glee and points triumphantly when asked “Where’s your nose?” or “Where’s your mouth?” But she’s really cute when asked about her ears. She takes both hands and tugs them out for you to see!
My grandson knows this game, too. Johnny doesn’t live near me, but I get to enjoy seeing his progress and talking to him through video chats. Recently, during one of our chats, I asked him “Where’s your nose?” He pointed to his nose and said, “nose”. So I asked, “Where’s your chin?” He appropriately touched his chin and replied, “chin”. Then I asked, ” Do you have ears?” And he startled me by saying, “No.” I chuckled, because it was cute and unexpected and funny. But it also caused me to think of another, somewhat similar and more serious question. That is, do you have ears to hear?
Little boys often had their own thoughts and while pursuing them did not always hear what you said. Many people of all ages were hard of hearing in all kinds of ways. –from the novel Kingdom Come by Daphne Simpkins
The above quote reminds us that it isn’t just the ‘hard of hearing’ who are hard of hearing. I mentioned this in my previous blog post, I Hear You! In that post I wrote, “But it isn’t just those who suffer from hearing loss that do not hear. There are other reasons that people fail to listen. It has to do with focus. When a person is focused on themselves it affects their ability to hear.” Distractions, such as television and cell phones, also affect focus and can keep people from hearing. But sometimes the reason people do not hear is simply because they don’t want to!
The expression “Talk to the hand!” accompanied with a raised hand in front of the face blatantly makes this clear. The unspoken and implied part of that statement is “cause this face ain’t listening.” It means you might as well talk to my hand, because I don’t want to hear what you’re saying! Sometimes people will cover their ears and make a lot of noise with their mouth as a way of refusing to hear. One Sunday morning I noticed a lady in the congregation sitting with her hands pressed over her ears. When I asked her about it after the service, she told me she didn’t want to hear what the preacher was saying. We may not literally cover our ears, but many times we do close our ears to what we do not want to hear.
Usually if someone refuses to listen, it is because they don’t want to hear another viewpoint or be given advice or receive any instruction. But quite often it also means they don’t want to hear the truth. This is especially true in spiritual matters.
Thomas Jefferson made his own Bible. He cut up his Bible, eliminated the portions he didn’t like or didn’t want to believe, and pasted the remaining verses into another book. This cut up version of the Word of God (It’s only the New Testament.) has actually been published and is available for purchase! This is a prime example of refusing to hear God’s truth.
It isn’t always easy to hear God’s voice. We can get it all mixed up. But sometimes the problem is our unwillingness to hear what He has to say. Sadly, many of us do not have ears to hear from God. From the very beginning, God longed for the people He created to hear Him. As much as we want God to hear us, He also wants us to hear Him!
From the Old Testament prophets to the last book of the Bible, God implores His people to hear Him. The book of Jeremiah is filled with pleas from God for them to hear Him, and over and over again the response is: “but they would not listen”. Jeremiah calls them “foolish people… who have ears and hear not”. One of the saddest verses in the Bible is Isaiah 28:12. “God has told His people, ‘Here is a place of rest; let the weary rest here. This is a place of quiet rest.’ But they would not listen.” (NLT) I wonder what blessings we miss, because we refuse to hear.
Do you have ears to hear? In the book of Revelation there are several verses that repeat the exhortation: “He that has ears, let him hear…” The New Living Translation words it this way: “Anyone with ears to hear must listen..” We all have ears. The question is: are we willing to hear God?
Who among you will give ear to this? Who will listen and hear… –Isaiah 42:23
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Each year in August the village of East Aurora, NY holds an annual classic car show. Main Street is closed off to traffic for the day and the street is lined with old cars and trucks, most of them beautifully restored. This is a large event and the street is filled with people walking and admiring the numerous entries.
I enjoy going to the show, not only because of the classic cars that are there, but because of the memories they bring to my mind. The old Plymouth Belvedere reminds me of the one my husband owned when we were dating, and the large pink Mercury reminds me of my father. My father was a Mercury man. Whenever he bought a new car, it was always a Mercury. One year he couldn’t decide between purchasing a blue or a pink Mercury, so he discussed it with the family. A vote was taken and the general consensus was “Let’s get blue.” So he went and bought the pink one! The year I saw the gorgeous pink Mercury at the car show, I had to smile and take a picture.
The car show is more special to me now, because my older grandson has an entry in it! Cody owns a 1985 Dodge Ram50 truck that he has restored and made his own. It’s an unusual little truck that is admired by many.
My grandson has a new restoration project. He’s been working on an old motorcycle. He likes sharing his progress with me, showing me the parts he’s gotten and taking me into the garage to see what he’s done. He has sent me a few pictures, too. Look at this!
But that’s not how it looked when he started! It took a lot of work to get it to look like that. At one point in time, Cody’s beautiful red motorcycle actually looked like this:
When Cody is restoring an old vehicle he spends a lot of time exploring junk yards and searching eBay for just the right part he needs. And then comes the struggle of putting it on and making it work. The restoration process takes a lot of time and patience.
I am reminded of a little chorus that was popular when my children were young:
He’s still working on me to make me what I need to be; It took Him just a week to make the moon and stars, the sun and the earth, and Jupiter and Mars, Oh, how loving and patient He must be, ‘Cause He’s still working on me!
Did you know that God is in the restoring business? And He does it with love and patience! One of the greatest things I am thankful for is that God is so patient with me.
Recently I saw a Facebook post that read simply and sadly, “I have failed!!!” I do not know the circumstances behind that statement and I was taken aback by the words. My response to the person who wrote it was, “Haven’t we all.” But this is when God can come into our lives to do the great work of restoration!
First and foremost, God desires to restore our relationship with Him. This is accomplished by a simple act of faith in what has already been done for us!
Since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God, because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us…our friendship with God was restored by the death of His Son… –Romans 5:1&10 (NLT)
But this is just the beginning. The restoration process continues because we are an imperfect people. We make mistakes and do wrong things. And sometimes our bad choices have dire consequences, not only messing up our lives, but affecting those around us. We become despondent, and in despair we hang our heads and cry, “I have failed!” Can restoration take place even then?
We tend to think that restoration is getting back what has been lost, but that’s not completely true. When a car is being restored, what is broken must be fixed, but what can’t be fixed needs to be replaced. Broken pieces and ruined parts are forever gone. A restored car is NOT the same car it originally was. With different parts and a new coat of paint, the car has been given a new life. It doesn’t get back the pieces that were ruined. And this is a truth for us as well. Some consequences of our actions can’t be changed. We can’t always go back to what we were or what we had, but we can be restored and given a new life!
Job lost everything. His health, his possessions, his family. But at the end of the story he is restored! His health returns and he has an abundant life. But the possessions and houses that were destroyed are forever gone and so is the family he lost to death. But God blessed him with new possessions and another family. He was restored and given a new life!
King David was a “man after God’s heart” and yet he really messed up! He committed a grievous sin by committing adultery with the neighbor’s wife and plotting to have her husband killed! There were consequences to his misdeeds. He suffered loss. But David knew about the God who restores! His prayer of repentance is found in Psalm 51. In the middle of his prayer, he prays for restoration.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me by Your generous spirit. –Psalm 51:10-12
Being restored by God isn’t about what He does for us; it’s more about what He does in us. Remember the line from the 23rd Psalm, “He restoreth my soul.”
We can be assured that God can bring good out of the worst circumstances. We can trust Him to heal the heartache, to mend the broken pieces, and to restore our ruined lives. He can make “something beautiful” out of any mess!
If there ever were dreams that were lofty and noble, they were my dreams at the start, And hope for life’s best were the hopes that I harbor down deep in my heart. But mydreams turned to ashes and my castles all crumbled, my fortune turned to loss, so I wrapped it all in the rags of life and laid it at the cross.
Something beautiful, something good, all my confusion He understood. All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife, but He made something beautiful of my life. –Bill Gaither
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When I was engaged to be married, I remember telling my future husband that his mother was “small but powerful.” Just a couple inches over five feet, she was small in stature, but I saw something bigger in her. She had a strength beyond her size. She was a strong force in the family. She had to be! She was the mother of four big, boisterous boys and a feisty, determined daughter! I was a bit intimidated.
I was the first one to marry one of her sons, and his mother wasn’t too sure she liked the idea. She had a right to be concerned. Paul was only 18 when we got married!! Relatives and friends were telling her she should not let it happen. So she did what a good mother should do. She prayed! This is the true source of her strength. After much prayer, God assured her that this was indeed His plan and that He would provide and take care of us – her son and first daughter-in-law. And Mom C has been on my side ever since!
My mother-in-law is strong because of her intimate relationship with God. This close walk with God began when she was a child. I love her story of praying as a child that God would teach her to play the piano. She got up the next morning, sat down at the piano and played!! She’s been playing for Him ever since.
She is also strong because of her resourcefulness as well as her reliance on God. She has always done what needs to be done. As pastors of small churches, their financial situation was not easy. She knew how to stretch those dollars, and how to pray for what was needed. When she became a widow at the age of 54, her dependence on God continued. It is only now as I have faced the grief of losing my own husband the same way she lost hers that I understand and appreciate even more the strength of this little woman.
I must confess that there have been times of tension between us, perhaps an underlying sort of competition on my part, needing to prove myself as a young wife, a new mother and a pastor’s wife. This was especially true when she lived with us for a season. I could get snippy. She had a better way of dealing with it. She talked to me about any problem we had. I’m not talking about the fierce competition between us when we played Scrabble or Boggle or Phase10. That was pure fun! We had many good times, laughing and crying and praying together, often accompanied with a cup of tea.
My mother-in-law is now 91 and struggles with memory loss. She tends to repeat herself and has key phrases that she says to different people. But I have noticed that the repetitive statements she makes are all positive in nature. She can’t keep track of all her grandchildren and great grandchildren, forgetting who belongs to who. But she knows me! Almost every time she sees me, she hugs me and says with a smile, “You’re more like a daughter to me.” And I am honored.
She is smaller now than ever. Physically frail and shrinking in size, she doesn’t seem to be the strong woman of influence she once was. But to me she is still that little giant I admire.
Size isn’t what makes you a giant. It’s who you are, what you do, and who you rely on that determines your strength and success. I recently read the exciting Biblical account of David and Goliath, and I wondered, “Who is the true giant in that story?” Is it Goliath who in spite of his bigness ends up dead on the ground with his head cut off? Or is it the young lad brave enough to stand against the enemy because he knew God and relied on Him for the victory?!
I recently heard someone say, “Don’t underestimate the small ones.” And think about this:
Many small people, in small places, doing small things can change the world. –Eduardo Galeano
This is especially true when that small person or small place or small position is used by God. I am reminded of Susanna Wesley, a simple mother who taught her many children to love God and who is now known as the “mother of Methodism” because she was the mother of John and Charles Wesley. She had this to say about smallness: I am content to fill a little space if God be glorified. It is this kind of attitude that Jesus was referring to when He said, Whoever is the least among you is the greatest.(Luke 9:48)
I am grateful for my mother-in-law, for her example and her godly strength. A preacher and teacher as well as wife and mother, her knowledge of the Scriptures was astounding! And if you asked her to pray for you, be assured she did, and still does! I am proud to call her Mom. She is indeed “small, but powerful”, a little giant for God!
Her sons tower over her, but still look up to her!
(My husband is not pictured as this was taken a few months after his death. Also, since this picture was taken one of her other sons, Lawrence, has passed away. Her grief is great, but her faith is greater.)
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“Three frogs are sitting on a log. One of the frogs decides that he is going to jump off. How many frogs are left?” This was the opening line of a sermon I recently heard. The question, of course, is a riddle. It seems like the answer should be two, but because it’s a riddle that’s obviously going to be wrong. The right answer is three. Why? Because until the one frog actually jumps off, there are still three frogs on the log. A decision doesn’t mean it necessarily happens. A good example of this is the New Year’s resolutions people make every year and never keep!
The dynamic and influential civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr, is well-known for his powerful “I Have a Dream” speech. He dared to voice his dream for this nation to the nation!
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.
I have a dream that one day my four little children will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
But Martin Luther King, Jr. didn’t just dream about it. He did something! He strove to make his dream a reality. Decisions and dreams need to be followed up with action. The same is true of faith.
My daughter has a lovely picture with the framed words, Be Still. She also has a mug with those words on it as well. And on the other side of the mug is the Scripture, “Be still and know that I am God”. It’s a beautiful sentiment and a wonderful truth. But one day as I looked at those words, I thought to myself, “But God calls us to action, too!” To be still is to be calm and quiet, to be at peace, and to trust God. It’s a matter of the heart. The encouragement to be still is not an excuse to do nothing!
God wants us to be “doers”. Look at all these action words we find in the Bible: ask, seek and knock, go, pursue, stand, walk and run, work, fight and wrestle! Our faith should lead us to action. Hebrews 11 is the faith chapter. It lists many Old Testament “Heroes of Faith” and stresses not only their faith, but what they DID because of their faith. It is clear that faith without action is useless. Faith is not only trusting; it also involves obedience and commitment. The Bible puts it this way, “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”-James 2:17(NIV)
I frequently make a “to do” list. There’s a sense of satisfaction when I am able to scratch a task off that list. But I must confess that some things stay on that list for a very, very long time. In fact, I end up rewriting it on my “to do” list week after week after week. My mother used to say, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions!” I don’t know about that, but I do know that putting a task on my list of things to do isn’t going to get it done. It’s going to take some effort and action on my part.
I am reminded of the quote attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, “It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.” In other words, don’t just talk about a problem or an issue, do something! Because we live in a world full of darkness, we have an opportunity and an obligation to put our faith into action in an attempt to dispel some of that darkness.
Just as a decision or a dream demands effort, faith also requires action. In fact, faith is a call to action!
Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. –Martin Luther King, Jr.
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I am the recipient of another new mug. This one is rather ordinary and plain, but it is decked out for the holidays! Wrapped in a white knitted cozy, it is especially cute because it has a miniature red plaid scarf wrapped around it as well. The mug holds a transparent Christmas ball ornament that actually has a hot chocolate mix inside of it. One word is written on the decoration: BELIEVE!
It’s become quite common to encourage people to believe. The object of that belief can vary, but often the injunction to believe is focused on believing in yourself. I live in western New York which is Buffalo Bills territory. So around here we are encouraged to “Billieve!” It’s a play on words that urges us to believe in our football team. (And that’s not always easy!)
Urging people to believe has also become a popular part of celebrating Christmas. We see it in the holiday decorations and on our Christmas cards. It is often a theme in Christmas music, movies and commercials. A few years ago when I was watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade on TV, I noticed the decorations Macy’s had on their store. Hanging on the side of the building in huge letters was that one word: BELIEVE.
What is it that we are to believe in at Christmas? Children, of course, are often encouraged to believe in Santa Claus. Adults, on the other hand, are admonished to believe in the Christmas spirit or the goodness of humanity or the positive vibes of the season. But all these things are not worthy of our belief. This kind of believing leads only to disappointment.
I do, however, want to encourage you to believe! Not in some nebulous, feel good concept, but in the One who was born in a stable. Jesus often gets neglected and forgotten during the holiday season, but He is the who and the why of our Christmas day! Believing in Him has eternal rewards!
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. –John 3:16
For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed’. –Romans 10:11
Jesus Himself exhorts you to believe for in John 14:1 He declares, “Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.”
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Recently I went out for lunch with some friends. When we were taken to our table a lovely little painting of a black-capped chickadee caught my eye. I ended up sitting directly across from the painting, and I couldn’t stop looking and smiling at that picture. When I found out that the prints on display were done by a local artist and were for sale, I made a quick and unusual decision. I was going to buy it! I say it was unusual because it’s out of character for me. I am not a spender. I am very reticent to splurge on something for myself, especially something unnecessary! But I couldn’t resist that little bird. I know a lot of people who love and enjoy black-capped chickadees, but I have an affinity to them based on a little more than their cuteness.
When I was nine years old my parents moved our family to a different town. That meant I started fourth grade in a new school. It did not go well for me. It’s always difficult being the new student, but it is especially hard when you are looked at as “different”. I have a disability. At that point in my life, my physical challenges caused me to walk awkwardly and run slowly. I’m not sure you could even call it running. As one of the boys let me know when he passed me on the way to the playground and declared, “I walk faster than you run!” Perhaps he was just making an observation, but it didn’t feel that way. I didn’t even really know I was disabled until my classmates mocked me because of it. So most of my recollections from that year are not pleasant. Except for the black-capped chickadee! On the outside ledge of our classroom window, a chickadee built a nest for her family. What joy it was to watch! So when I think back to that difficult year, I also remember that it was then I learned about the cute little bird called a black-capped chickadee.
My husband loved to plant apple trees. Because Paul was a pastor, we lived in a parsonage next to the church. That parsonage is now surrounded by apple trees. Quite often I would see a chickadee or two among the branches of the tree planted in front of the living room picture window. That window faced the church parking lot.
On the day of my husband’s funeral I was gazing out that window watching the hearse arrive with his coffin. To my amazement the tree in front of the window was suddenly filled and fluttering with a multitude of chickadees! I was stunned, surprised and joyful! What a blessing those little birds were to me. I do realize that in the winter chickadees can be known to flock together, but to me, on that day, it was a miracle!
I am not a mystic nor am I superstitious. I do not think that Paul sent those birds to me. It was not a message from him. And perhaps some would say it was just a coincidence, a matter of timing. But this I know: God used those chickadees to bless me, to comfort and encourage me!
God is not limited in how He chooses to speak to someone. He’s used birds before. He fed Elijah with ravens (They actually brought him food!), sent a dove on a mission, and used sparrows as an object lesson. God can use the big and boisterous, and He can use the small and seemingly insignificant. I am thankful for those chickadees. They showed me it was possible to smile when life is difficult and to have joy in the midst of sorrow. Black-capped chickadees will forever remind me of God’s personal, loving interest in me.
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