We got the whole family for Thanksgiving. But now for Christmas, we are all a little sad. We don’t get the cute grandkids or 2 of the fun sister’s or the testosterone-adding brother-in-law’s. With 2 of my 4 sisters married, we have to share holiday’s with all the different in-law families. In short, it will be a quiet Christmas in the Box camp with just the 5 of us…well, as quiet as 5 Box’s GET!
So, in light of the depression sure-to-ensue with all that quiet, we’ve decided to go camping. YES!! My parents and us 3 girls are headed to camp out in one of Texas’ state parks next week. We LOVE the great outdoors…and kinda’ feel like the only way to really enjoy it is to be out IN it! So, hiking and chatting and eating and gazing at the open skies is our unorthodox Christmas…I guess you could say we’re kickin’ Christmas “shepherd style.” Haha. And as we are loving it, I can’t help but think how much camping would be pure misery for some others in our office, “*clears throat* *coughs* JERRY *cough, cough*!”
I’ve been thinking about what different lives all of us lead…right down to family vacations! Some only do hotels…some only do family guest rooms! Some of us fly, others drive. We all live drastically different off-time, but our day-to-day living finds us all in the same space sharing food and time and ideas….and love for the same God. It as probably the same for all the folks gathered in that stable a long time ago. There were shepherds and wisemen and the poor Mary and Joseph. And in my fanciful head I still see the angels hovering, excited to see Jesus as a baby after witnessing Him as God. All those people were drawn to that space by one thing, the promise of The Messiah, the promise of redemption. The words of the angels to the shepherds rings out, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with who He is pleased.” Peace among those with who He is pleased. He came to bring peace. He came to release us from death and to bring us peace. And I love that part, “among those with who He is pleased.” What marks one as “pleasing” to God? Obviously the shepherds and wisemen and Jesus’ parents had it….whatever “it” is. Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.” These things marked the crew around the stable that day. In their own ways, all had believed that God existed…and believing there would be a reward of peace, as the angels said and prophecy’s predicted, they sought Him.
SO in the spirit of Christmas’s past, where shepherd’s came in with only the clothes on their back and sandals on their feet, and where the wisemen came in majestic, camel-ridin’ style, I’m enjoyin’ all the different people that make up our “family”…this family who believe’s He exists. And believing He exists, we’re all seeking Him in different ways today, some in tents and some snug in their houses…I love the gorgeous differences that make up His Body!
So..Let’s look for the beauty in the differences today…‘cause deep down, we all have one thing in common: Peace from a Savior pleased with our seeking.
Merry Christmas Y’all!!
annetta
