My first Christmas

In the midst of the Christmas spirit of craziness and commercialized Santas and unwrapped joy, I decided to sway from my usual daily recovery devotional of ephesians and turn instead to the famous birth that supposedly happened on this day. 

First of all, I woke up this morning not sure what to expect, sure there were well-wishes on Facebook, and a kitten to feed, and a warm welcome from a bed bound husband...but the Christmas spirit had not entered me.  And, I missed the traditions of my family, whatever it is of late, and felt saddened that I was so far away.  (Did our car have to go out this time of year? Did my husband's back have to go out?  Oh well, as I read to my husband, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."  (Hey, with all my husband and I have been through, and with our increased need for more of this thing called "faith", maybe that's our scripture gift sent straight from our loving father this Christmas!  I think so!)

So, with an intent to have some sort of Christmas cheer, I marched down town in the cold to find a coffee shop or a restaurant with take out food, but ended up screaming at the barista who was closing who shop, Okay, Christmas spirit not there yet.  So, here I go...I pray forgiveness for my wrongful spirit on Christmas and pray healing for that young barista that the Jesus' love will enter him, and all will be forgiven between us.  Well, there you go.  After that debacle, (and hey, maybe I needed that release), I entered Safeway, yes, Safeway, the crappy food store I swore I never thought I'd enter, and found some food worthy of putting some money too...and to redeem myself, or find karma, if you believe in that, I bought the checkout guy at the counter a Starbucks card for 15 dollars, so there we go, maybe after picking up all the goodies for Christmas the spirit enters.  So, all is not lost.

Then, I came home, made some coffee, hot chocolate, eggnog combination, crawled down the stairs with my husband (well, we are one flesh, so better do everything side by side) and pulled at his wrists, I read to him a little of the Christmas story.  Yes, the star, the manger, Bethelem, the Shepherds, the wiseman and decorated the house the best we could with Christmas decorations....even our wedding tree that our friend made for us, yeah, that's our Christmas tree...with the manger scenes near by and two lovely Christmas cards.  But, as I was reading the Christmas story, there is always one line that stands out in my heart:

"But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart."  Luke 2:19

 Without much forethought, I read over that.  But, its been trespassing through the road between heart and mind this day of all days, so I write here:  Yes, today we set aside this time to remember the majesty of his humble beginnings, God became a baby.  But, how often do we, like Mary, ponder Jesus in our hearts?  As I wrote on the note on Facebook from an exerpt from a Max Lucado book:

He looks like nothing but a king.  His face is prunish and red.  His cry, though strong and healthy, is still the helpless and piercing cry of a baby.  And he is absolutely dependent upon Mary for his well-being.
 Majesty in the midst of the mundane.  Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat.  Divinity entering into the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager and in the presence of a carpenter.

My hope and prayer for my heart this Christmas season would be that the wonder of Christ's humility and revelation of his coming to be my Savior would be just that in the mundane and filth of the world, be it doing dishes, cleaning out litter boxes, taking out the garbage, that that treasure of Jesus would remain in my heart, amidst the daily grind and daily activity.

So, in that spirit of humility of my Lord's coming, I dedicate my heart and pray for that humility and worship in the simplest of ways, I leave you with Mary's song of worship:

"My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, (put your name there)
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers
to Abraham and to his offspring forever."

So, now (if you are still reading and if you have read earlier posts), this morning I missed the traditional Christmases of home, but, you know, not only have I been ultimately blessed this season and Christmas, but the love of God has truly worked this year.  He has brought me my true love and faithful companion, my wonderful husband (Ladies, it took 8 years of prayer, so don't give up!), and with it a darling kitten named Z-kitty (Alon-sy!), wonderful family and friends from far away and close by who have provided from their hearts openly (and on behalf of both of us, we thank you), and, most importantly, I've got Jesus...who in the midst of the storms of life, poverty being one of them, he remembers me and promises to stay by my side, our side, both mine and my husband...and of course, yours.  So, in all your blessings, treasure Jesus.