December 12, 2014
Luke 1:30-35
(NIV)
But the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be
with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will
give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of
Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." "How will this
be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" The angel
answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of
God.
I get goose bumps reading the words of this passage. Can you even imagine how Mary felt?? I have read these words and I am committed to
treasuring every moment of this Christmas season. I came into the season this year feeling
lonely and sad. My sons are grown and I
don’t have other biological family near me.
I do however have one of the best gifts that Jesus has given me…..the
most precious gift of eternal life!!
I also have the gift of faith, which I have been really
taking pleasure in having lately. The
way I can turn my worry and anxiety into faith is such a hearty comfort filled
with hope. Hope….that is another gift I
have. I was able to turn my thoughts
around this morning with the knowledge that there is hope for all situations. With the state of this world being so
hateful, distrustful and disastrous these days, it can be completely depressing
and hard to have the desire to continue on.
But, I have found myself looking for and finding happy situations;
strangers helping others. I cried my
eyes out watching a video clip of random people being surprised with
gifts. What a great cry that I had
though, watching the hearts of these people show the love for other humans;
that incredible love that Christ has given us.
Love….that is another gift that I have. I know that I have been given so much love
from God, because I love to share my love with others. Much of my life I have felt that I have not
been dealt the life I planned and have been bitter about it. Well, there really are not too many that can
honestly say they have lived the life they envisioned for themselves. I now know, because of the love of Jesus
Christ, that I am living my life exactly as planned, and I am the one that can
and will see the gifts I truly have in my life.
I am going to continue to celebrate the birth of Jesus by loving and
living life as God has planned…..with eternity in mind. The challenges on earth will always be, but,
my heart can always smile with all adversity, as the end result will be
paradise.
He is our gift and He gives us gifts not only in December but throughout the year...and throughout our lives. When we can look on the bright side inspite of the challenges of life it is because of the gifts that Jesus has given us. And when we snap out of a funk we are giving a gift back to Him.
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