Joshua 24:14
“So revere Jehovah and serve him in sincerity and truth. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Worship the Lord alone.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Here we are…Christmas Eve! As I look around, I once again see how God is orchestrating the details of our lives…how He has had His hand on us continually…and I am eternally grateful for His amazing care. Somehow, everything got done on time - or even a little early - this year. The house was decorated in a record two days, and the cards were sent. Gifts were purchased, and stockings were filled. Cookies were baked and menus were planned.
We had all the “makings” of a “picture-perfect Christmas.” But I have learned that Christmas is not truly in the decorations and the wrappings…the food and fun – or even the carols and Candlelight services. In my 58 years, I have spent Christmas Eve tending to sick and injured loved ones who were hospitalized. I have stood at an incredibly frigid graveside in Iowa as we buried Greg’s grandfather. I have sat by and watched others do all of the “busy work” as I recovered from a November surgery. I have consoled grandparents who lost everything in a devastating house fire only days before Christmas. I have celebrated without loved ones who were either in a distant city – or celebrating in Heaven with Jesus. And I can tell you that in these particular years, the worship was somehow sweeter and more profound.
This year, my family is gathering at our house to celebrate together this evening. This will be a bit of an unconventional Christmas Eve for us. Because I have been nursing a cold, the “ham dinner with all the trimmings” has been postponed in favor of a pizza party (and thank you, Pizza Hut, for staying open on Christmas Eve!). Because my mother is battling cancer and pneumonia, she will be an honored guest without a single duty other than to be present and let us enjoy her company. Because my brother-in-law is still battling critical injuries suffered in a car accident earlier in the week, we will spend at least part of Christmas Day at the hospital in Little Rock with him and other family members - and we are on “stand-by” in case we are needed sooner.
Church friends of ours lost their patriarch a couple of nights ago. The family of the man whose car hit my brother-in-law and his wife is mourning his passing. A former Sunday school student of mine is in Kuwait on a one-year tour of duty with the National Guard. The flight of friends who were traveling to Argentina to visit family for Christmas got delayed – and then cancelled – stranding them in Chile! A Facebook friend who is a single mother lost her job yesterday.
DO NOT feel sorry for us! We are probably feeling closer to God these last few days than ever. We will delight in watching Timothy, Zola and Nathan open presents this afternoon and in the merriment of their innocence and excitement. We will treasure the memories made…and cherish the fact that we are able to gather as a family for this time. Those who are mourning will hopefully feel God’s presence in a profound way. The young father in Kuwait – and his family and friends who are stateside – will talk to God about his safety and ask for Jesus to be present with him in a special way this holiday. The travelers, hospital sitters, and those who wonder how they are going to pay their bills will hopefully lean on Jesus a little extra – and find Him in a new way in the process.
Our church’s Bishop shared a video this morning that illustrated a wide variety of people in unconventional places and situations, with the tag line…”Jesus is Here.” And truly, today, Jesus is HERE! As you unwrap presents and stuff yourself silly – whether with a ham dinner or pizza – may Jesus be with you. May you worship Him alone – and not all of the trappings and trimmings of this holiday season. And may this be the Christmas that you say with new conviction, “Jesus is HERE!” – and truly mean it!
Jesus is HERE! God bless you…Merry Christmas Eve!
©2015 Debbie Robus
“So revere Jehovah and serve him in sincerity and truth. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Worship the Lord alone.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Here we are…Christmas Eve! As I look around, I once again see how God is orchestrating the details of our lives…how He has had His hand on us continually…and I am eternally grateful for His amazing care. Somehow, everything got done on time - or even a little early - this year. The house was decorated in a record two days, and the cards were sent. Gifts were purchased, and stockings were filled. Cookies were baked and menus were planned.
We had all the “makings” of a “picture-perfect Christmas.” But I have learned that Christmas is not truly in the decorations and the wrappings…the food and fun – or even the carols and Candlelight services. In my 58 years, I have spent Christmas Eve tending to sick and injured loved ones who were hospitalized. I have stood at an incredibly frigid graveside in Iowa as we buried Greg’s grandfather. I have sat by and watched others do all of the “busy work” as I recovered from a November surgery. I have consoled grandparents who lost everything in a devastating house fire only days before Christmas. I have celebrated without loved ones who were either in a distant city – or celebrating in Heaven with Jesus. And I can tell you that in these particular years, the worship was somehow sweeter and more profound.
This year, my family is gathering at our house to celebrate together this evening. This will be a bit of an unconventional Christmas Eve for us. Because I have been nursing a cold, the “ham dinner with all the trimmings” has been postponed in favor of a pizza party (and thank you, Pizza Hut, for staying open on Christmas Eve!). Because my mother is battling cancer and pneumonia, she will be an honored guest without a single duty other than to be present and let us enjoy her company. Because my brother-in-law is still battling critical injuries suffered in a car accident earlier in the week, we will spend at least part of Christmas Day at the hospital in Little Rock with him and other family members - and we are on “stand-by” in case we are needed sooner.
Church friends of ours lost their patriarch a couple of nights ago. The family of the man whose car hit my brother-in-law and his wife is mourning his passing. A former Sunday school student of mine is in Kuwait on a one-year tour of duty with the National Guard. The flight of friends who were traveling to Argentina to visit family for Christmas got delayed – and then cancelled – stranding them in Chile! A Facebook friend who is a single mother lost her job yesterday.
DO NOT feel sorry for us! We are probably feeling closer to God these last few days than ever. We will delight in watching Timothy, Zola and Nathan open presents this afternoon and in the merriment of their innocence and excitement. We will treasure the memories made…and cherish the fact that we are able to gather as a family for this time. Those who are mourning will hopefully feel God’s presence in a profound way. The young father in Kuwait – and his family and friends who are stateside – will talk to God about his safety and ask for Jesus to be present with him in a special way this holiday. The travelers, hospital sitters, and those who wonder how they are going to pay their bills will hopefully lean on Jesus a little extra – and find Him in a new way in the process.
Our church’s Bishop shared a video this morning that illustrated a wide variety of people in unconventional places and situations, with the tag line…”Jesus is Here.” And truly, today, Jesus is HERE! As you unwrap presents and stuff yourself silly – whether with a ham dinner or pizza – may Jesus be with you. May you worship Him alone – and not all of the trappings and trimmings of this holiday season. And may this be the Christmas that you say with new conviction, “Jesus is HERE!” – and truly mean it!
Jesus is HERE! God bless you…Merry Christmas Eve!
©2015 Debbie Robus
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