I have not put away the nativity set yet. I am not behind. I intentionally left it out because it has meant so much to me this year.
The wonder of Emmanuel, God with us has spoken deeply to my soul. The realization that life was brutally hard when Jesus entered our world has been a salve to the deep parts of my heart.
Politics were just as messed up then. There were divisions among racial groups. Sickness ravished lives. People were desperate for relief, for life to change.
HE entered into that world, OUR world. To be WITH us. Right where we are. To experience the messy with us and to offer us hope & peace.
Last night as I stood wondering over the nativity, once again overcome with awe that God stepped into our world and experienced life as we experience it, I felt the anxiety about the world crisis raging around us melt away.
Coronavirus? He is with us. Future quarantines? He is with us. Availability of food & supplies? He is with us. Uncertainty of economic conditions? He is with us. Concern about those we love? He is with us. All the unknowns we haven't yet considered? He is with us.
He. is. WITH. us.
He says to us,
Relax. let go....of fear. Refresh. drink deeply...of His presence. Meditate on that. Let it fill your soul. Renew. give back...help others find rest & peace in Him.
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------------ Relax. Refresh. Renew.