Merry (almost) Christmas! I am so excited to join the team here at Facets of Faith, and am thankful to have been welcomed warmly by all of you that already know Jen and Tracy. I look forward to meeting you here each month. Check out what Jen had to say last week about Expecting the Unexpected here, and Tracy’s thoughts here. I pray that our words will find you wherever you may be this Christmas season, and that God will show himself to be just a step away.
‘TIS THE SEASON
It is the season of mesmerizing Christmas lights, cheesy movies with all the happy endings, gatherings with friends and family, gifts, and lots of Christmas cookies. This is the time of year when I love sitting in my apartment, surrounded by warm Christmas lights, covered in blankets, and drinking tea. There is something about it that just feels homey. It may also be that it is typically so cold I dread going outside, but we can ignore that.
For me, the holidays tend to have this cloud of expectation around them. I travel to see my family each Christmas, so there is always this building of anticipation leading up to the day I leave. So many expectations for family time, traditions, friends, friends’ super adorable children, home cooked meals with my family, and everything that goes along with seeing people you miss most of the year.
UNMET EXPECTATIONS
Not every year goes to plan, though. If nothing else, it seems inevitable that the 8 hour drive turns into 9. I feel like this year especially there are so many of us are in the midst of something that wouldn’t make that list of hopeful expectations. What about the first Christmas after we have lost someone we love? The Christmas where we aren’t able to be with those we love? The Christmas where we are aching for family healing, a spouse, children, financial provision, or healing of sickness? Contrary to how we may feel while watching all the movies with perfect endings, this can be a really, really hard time of year.
SHIFTING PERSPECTIVES
As I have been working through the thoughts and scripture God put on my heart for this month, I was encouraged by a friend to consider the shape of a V. As I am standing at the bottom point of the V, looking up to God with all my expectations, I may feel muddled that they don’t look like where I actually am, but what if we consider God’s perspective from the top of the V and look back at where we are from His view?
You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”
Psalms 139:16 NLT
God expects the unexpected. He sees us. It doesn’t take away the hurt, disappointment, or tears, but it feels good to know that the Creator of the earth, and everything in it, isn’t surprised. He isn’t surprised by the point where we stand today, or where we will be a year from now. He sees our refinement. He sees us learning to love through hard situations. He sees us leaning on him through our unmet expectations. He sees us.
LAUGHING AT GOD
I really relate to Sarah in Genesis 18. Talk about unexpected, she literally laughed at God when she heard where her life was going.
I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!” Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent. Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children. So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my husband is also so old?’
Then the Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.’ Sarah was afraid, so she denied it, saying, ‘I didn’t laugh.’ But the Lord said, ‘No, you did laugh.’” Genesis 18:10-15 NLT
A couple chapters later, we see that Sarah had a baby, exactly when God said she would. She laughed again. This I can relate to. Not the having a baby part, but the laughing because God did the unexpected thing I had laughed at in the first place.
FINDING REST WITH THE ONE WHO KNOWS
We aren’t promised we get everything we pray for, or that the pain will go away this Christmas, but we are promised God knows where we are. He hasn’t forgotten, and He is Immanuel (God with us). Whether it is big, scary, painful, joyous, or somewhere in between, we can expect the unexpected knowing nothing surprises God. We can find rest with Him.
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28 NLT
A little closing consideration for the Facets family: Why don’t we as the church reach out to those around us and show them we see where they are too? If someone around you needs family this Christmas, can you be the unexpected family for them?
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