Emmanuel

It's Christmas morning and here I sit. Awake in a quiet house. My sweet girl is still fast asleep and I think to myself that this will be one of the - if not the, last times I wake up before heron Christmas morning. This year she is intrigued by the pretty lights, the peppermint and gingerbread cookies, the music we dance and sing to, and the mistletoe that we kiss her daddy goodbye and hello under. She is excited to see all the family and to rip up some tissue paper. 

She has no idea about Santa, or the fact that I have been trying to decide how we will present the "Santa twist"to Christmas. I do hope, however, that already her mind and heart are soaking in the things she hears and sees- the advent readings, the bible stories, the talk and excitement about the real true meaning behind this season. That she will grow up knowing that we give gifts not because they are deserved, not because you spent the year being "nice", and not because some man in red some how squeezed into our home thru the fireplace (which will be a predicament for ol' st. Nick since our new fireplace will be gas and the glass won't open...) But because of the sacrifice, the love, and the grace we received from the best gift of all, thr birth of Jesus. 

We were part of a worship team a couple weeks ago and one of the songs we sang that morning was Emmanuel (Hallowed Manger Ground) by Chris Tomlin. One of the lines stuck out to me during practice and I have continued to let that line move thru my thoughts about Christmas and how we make this time gift of Jesus something we acknowledge and celebrate all year. The line was: The son of God, here born to bleed... Every year I view Christmas and the gift it represents, through the lens of whatever I am currently going thru or whatever stage of life I'm at. This year, celebrating with my daughter who is 13 months old - so much a toddler, yet still so much my baby - this line feels a bit like a punch in the gut. I imagine Mary, given this gift - knowing that her "soul will be pierced" (Luke 2:35), looking down at this baby with such love, and such pain at the same time. And then thinking about God - and how He knew the whole plan, what would happen and the pain that He was knowingly sending Jesus into, as a sacrifice and gift to us - that just makes me more aware of the enormity of this gift. This grace. This love that we did nothing to deserve. How can we not live in thankfulness every day?

So here I sit on this Christmas morning, never alone, and thanking God for this gift - 

Emmanuel, Emmanuel

God incarnate, here to dwell

Emmanuel, Emmanuel

Praise His name Emmanuel

And we beheld this offering

Exalted now the King of kings

Praise God for the hallowed manger ground. 

Matthew 1:21 (Message) Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—‘God saves’—because he will save his people from their sins.