Christmas is upon us, and every piece of decoration and light we own
is hanging on trees inside and out, or festooned around surfaces that were
previously bare. Nativity scenes and snow covered villages speckle our home
ready for little hands to play, and our Christmas tree has gifts nestled under
its boughs with large name tags for young readers to identify their names so
shaking and guessing contents can ensue.
I unfortunately had to decorate our tree twice this year as yet another
tree falling incident occurred, breaking so many precious memories. And to be
quite honest, and this might surprise people who know me, the tediousness of
tree decorating has never been high on my list. Love the look, just don’t like
the process.
It seems year after year our family’s Christmas’s have been
a bit harder because a loved one has been very sick or has passed away. This year is no exception as we are mourn the
passing of my sister and her father just a few short months ago. Also, a dear
couple I love are having serious marriage problems and their young children’s
futures would seem to hold a much changed and saddened course. Even my own church is bleeding with needs,
the list goes on and my heart, and so many others, are torn in grief.
Enter hope. “The Message” Study Bible says in 1 Peter 1:3-5,
“What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our
Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead we’ve been given a brand
new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven and the
future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day
is coming when you’ll have it all, life healed and whole.”
“Life healed and whole”, sounds pretty wonderful to me!
Because we were given hope in the form of a small child, Jesus, whose birth we
celebrate this Christmas season, our entire world is offered the hope of new
life, and peace beyond anything we could fathom. Now that is something to
celebrate!
