well, with 4 days until Christmas, i am finding quiet and peace i hadn't expected! With hubby's help, we have pretty much wrapped all the gifts, he even baked some cookies! (wahoo for learning new skills, babe!) I did a few things too ;) but here we are with a little time to kick back and relax before the rest of the brood come home for Christmas.
we took a walk during a brief sunny interlude yesterday- just leisurely...enjoying our time together and watching our crazy 9 year old Australian Shepherd chase birds, rabbits and whatever else she saw. too funny cuz she's a little pudgy and not so fast anymore...i can relate :)
We were reading a really short devotion after supper the other night- and this verse shot out at me - hit me in the heart and made me feel like a little girl again- with a new sense of his presence and care.
I felt like i was safe. That no matter what the evening news was reporting, God is on his throne. LIfe is moving along as he planned it- oh its not always what i'd like - loved ones in pain and unwell, kids with problems that only adults should have to deal with, bullying, etc. Not to mention much more serious global issues. And somehow i find our own anxieties seem to surface in the weeks before Christmas. Will i be able to get along with my relatives? will my gifts be received with joy and gratitude? Will there be enough _____?( fill in your own blank)
and here is this little verse...ready to calm my heart, soul and mind. I even found it twice this week so i pretty much know that hte Lord is trying to tell me something since i have not seen it in 2 years or so before this!
Luke 12:32
Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom"
Did you hear that?
He is not a miser...he does not mean for us to search for his kingdom without any reasonable hope of finding it - he DELIGHTS to give it to us!!! He's a good and generous Father who calls us his "little flock". Can you hear the tenderness in those words? It's all i CAN hear as i read it over and over.
Now pair this verse with the few preceding it: (thinking of Christmas in context now)
vv 29-31 "And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows you need them. But seek first his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well."
I hear it as a call to just sit down for a second. Our Father invites us into his presence. He longs to give us his kingdom- and assures us we will be able to find food and drink when the need arises. DO NOT WORRY seems to be the key point. Even as he tells us to seek the kingdom, he assures us that God is pleased to in fact give it! we won't be wasting time, as we seem to fear.
And as we are awaiting Christ's birth celebration- and expecting his second coming anytime now...what could be better than to steal away with Jesus for a break- to bask in his Father's love for us...and then deal with the food, gifts, etc.
Somehow i think that it will all look a bit less daunting and overwhelming once we've sat with our Jesus and relaxed a bit.
Have a truly restful and blessed Christmas, eh?
Cheers!
