O' Night Divine

O’ Holy Night is my favorite Christmas song. The lyrics are beautiful and filled with so much truth. My favorite lines of the song are…

“A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new glorious morn
Fall on your knees”

The weary world rejoiced at the hope Jesus brought, a new and glorious morn was upon them as the Savior of the World made his miraculous entrance. I think these words ring true in my heart because often life can make us feel weary. The demands of life, work, family, schedule, ministry, whatever it might be can often cause us to feel overwhelmed and weary. But do we fall on our knees when we feel weary? Do we fall before our Heavenly Father and ask for strength? Do we fall on our knees before Him because we know that His mercies are new each morning? Or are we just pulling ourselves up by out boot straps and pushing through the weariness?

Sometimes weariness can be accompanied by grief, loss and longing for things to be as they once were. For me this Christmas season, I feel the weight of those things. This past May I lost my Grandpa and this fall has been a process of grieving. This loss has been magnified because yesterday, December 23, was his birthday. It was a day where I would have called him, heard his voice, wished him a happy birthday, talked about the weather and told him I loved him. We would have talked about what we had planned for Christmas and how he would be attending his church’s Christmas Eve service and the plans he had for Christmas Day. Yesterday I felt the grief when I knew I couldn’t pick up the phone and give him a call. But my God is so gracious, there were many times yesterday that even in the grief I felt the joy of the season. The joy of preparing for my family to come over and the last minute gift wrapping I got to do for my kids. I felt the joy because it is OK for grief and joy to live together. They may seem like competing emotions, but often times they can be good friends.

Even though I feel the weariness of grief, I am able to rejoice because I know the truth. I know that Jesus came to this earth as a baby to live a perfect life, die the death I deserved and to rise again, defeating death. As we celebrate this season of the birth of Jesus, let us not forget His purpose while He was on this earth. How He fulfilled the will of God the Father as He laid down His life for you and for me. It is because of this truth, that I can find joy. I know my Grandpa is in the presence of his Savior and there is no better place to be! I know this truth because I have placed by trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and I believe the Bible, God’s word, is truth.

Today as I finish up my 35 day reading plan, I am filled with joy even in the midst of the weariness of life. May we all find rest in the arms of our Heavenly Father as we surrender our lives to Him. I am grateful for all I learned over these past 35 days. Even though I failed at times and got behind in my reading, God still taught me many lessons that I am very grateful for because His word is alive and active and it truly changes lives!

As 2019 comes to a close, my prayer is that 2020 will be a year where God continues to grow me, use me and give me opportunity to use my gifts for His glory. I was listening to Anne F. Downs’ podcast, That Sounds Fun, with guest, Aarti Sequeira and Aarti said something that caught my attention. She said that in the year 2020, of perfect vision, she wanted her focus to be on the will of God, not her own. 20/20 got me. perfect vision. Where is my vision set? Is it on my own desires and wants or is it on God? Is my vision set on Him and seeking His will? My prayer is that in the year 2020 that my vision would be perfectly set on my Heavenly Father.

XOXO…Merry Christmas.