It’s a wild, wild ride from Thanksgiving to Christmas, with so much to decorate, to buy, to wrap, to mail, to cook...and work, too! But tonight, those precious moments in firelight and candlelight round the Christmas tree, and tomorrow, when family and friends gather, will make it all worth it.
It’s all too easy for me, as the daughter of the original June Cleaver, to lose myself in recipes and shopping lists and details of the season, and sail right past the time to quiet my heart and think about what really happened to my life because of that baby born so long ago, His life already marked by the shadow of a cross, one that was meant for me.
I found that moment this morning, and thought I would share my thoughts with you. My prayer for us all today is that, once again, our hearts will be touched with the wonder of Emmanel, God With Us!
Martha
My computer screen glows
With instant information from
The other side of the world
While outside, bright against a black velvet sky
Stars sparkle, high and cold
A vague memory of the great star
That shown among them
That one night
Electric lights, at least 3,000
Creatively strung along tree and roof
Burn bravely
Our little attempt to recreate
Glory
That flooded a hillside
That one night
Muzak backgrounds
Of trumpets, harps and strings
Accompany shoppers thronging the malls
And sometimes
The whispering echo of ancient angels’ song stirs our hearts
For one brief moment with
Joy
That filled the earth
That one night
Now, we stop our schedules
And on this one night
Gather loved ones gladly
Round this lighted tree
And, looking back,
We welcome you
Sweet infant King
Knowing as wise men and shepherds could not know
The peace
The joy
The freedom
The redemption
That were born
With You
That one night
Every Christmas, I try to learn something new about the story of Jesus’ birth that will make it fresh and even more significant to me. That’s been a lot of years, for sure, but, without fail, I discover a new facet every time.
The measure of God’s love for us is a subject that seemingly has unending perspectives. This Christmas season, I realized something about that love that I never noticed before. God loves us so much that He broke the rules. I think within my concept of His holiness and goodness I had, until now, attributed some timidity to God’s personality that was really not there.
Now, before you label me some kind of heretic, you have to know that I understand completely that God can’t violate His character. He didn’t contradict who He was. It was our set of rules that he shattered when He sent His Son to earth.
Our rules stated that a virgin couldn’t conceive a child. It just didn’t happen like that. Our rules were that a King couldn’t be born in a stable. Our rules declared that once a Messiah did come to earth, He would surely be more forceful and demanding. Wouldn’t he take over and make things right immediately? Our rules would never allow the Son of God to die, especially on a torturous cross. But, if by some strange twist of fate, he did die, our rules pronounced that that was surely the end of it all.
But, God loves us too much to be contained by our trivial legalism. His ideas and plans are much deeper, much broader, much more brilliant that what we can fathom. So, he had to break through all our preconceived notions in order to rescue us from sin and from ourselves. Our rules are the things that contain Him, and prevent Him from doing what He wants in and through our lives.
In my Christmas reflections this year, I recalled attending a retreat at Mo Ranch in Hunt, Texas, over thirty years ago. One of the featured speakers was Dr. Lloyd Ogilvie, who, at the time, was pastor of Hollywood Presbyterian Church in California, and later served a number of years as Chaplain of the United States Senate. Dr. Ogilvie is a very distinguished individual with a resonant voice that, most certainly, must sound just like God’s. I have never forgotten one particular phrase that he spoke in that retreat session. He said, “If you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God could not fail, what would you set out to do for His Kingdom?”
Our words say one thing about God, but our rules might not bear that out. If I really understood and believed that God’s love for me was inexhaustible and that He stands behind that love with power that is immeasurable, how would I live my life differently?
In my search for something deeper and something more meaningful, that’s the challenge that God has placed before me this Christmas season. I want to begin acting like I really believe that God will not fail. I want to break the rules.
I'm beginning to understand what it feels like to be Brad Pitt. There's very little I have in common with the guy, including the fact I've never been one of People magazine's Most Beautiful People. But, both of us definitely married "up."
A few weeks back, we were in Philadelphia, where Martha was honored as one of the country's top five journalism educators. Then, yesterday, all her school's principals and vice principals invaded her classroom with balloons, flowers and hoopla, and announced to her that the University of Texas had selected her as one of the Top Ten Teachers In Texas. There are over 300,000 teachers in this state, and she was chosen as one of the top of the heap!
It's especially satisfying for me to see Martha get this award, because I suppose I know more than anyone else all that she invests into her students. The time, the patience and the effort to teach them the skills to create excellent student publications are only the beginning. She's all about the kids. Martha sees a need for hope in today's kids' lives, and everything she does and says to them is focused on bringing that to them. Teaching is her calling, and God has, this year, rewarded her faithfulness to that mission. I'm really thankful to be her husband!
It’s a wild, wild ride from Thanksgiving to Christmas, with so much to decorate, to buy, to wrap, to mail, to cook...and work, too! But tonight, those precious moments in firelight and candlelight round the Christmas tree, and tomorrow, when family and friends gather, will make it all worth it. 