Emmanuel

I wonder if anyone will be reading this today.. it is such a busy time of the year.. Maybe I am writing this just for me and that’s OK too. This has been a long year for me and the most difficult year of my life.. the end is in sight and sometime in the first week in January I will be moving again.. I moved three months ago and that was very traumatic.. I pray everyday that the Lord will help me make another transition and that His Grace will sustain me.

Life is so unpredictable.. the future is so unclear and that is really for everyone not just me. We never know what will happen next to turn our lives inside out or upside down.. life is so fragile but we try not to think about that. It is so easy to get comfortable and to forget that this life can change in a moment. I am not writing this to upset anyone.. after all it is Christmas Eve and isn’t it a time to celebrate? For some of us that is exactly what will be happening but for others.. including myself, it is a lonely night and a sad night because people we love are missing from our lives and no one can take their place. I am going to visit my husband in skilled nursing today and he will not understand that it is Christmas Eve or that I am lonely because we no longer live together and he is ill. Maybe that is for the best.. but he will be very glad to see me as he is every day and he will tell me that he loves me as he does every time.. even though he has lost much of his ability to remember and to speak clearly he still has his whole heart and the spirit of God is still working through him.. I am so grateful.

I feel very vulnerable sharing this with you.. but somehow my blog seems like the place to express the real things in my life.. something I probably need to do right now. So this is a hard day for me.. a hard season.. a hard year. Next week I will have another birthday and remember that 18 years ago on my birthday my husband asked me to marry him. He is still the love of my life and will always be.. I am thankful for all these years.. even the  current ones that have been so challenging. I have learned to treasure the moments because I don’t know how many more I will have.. I have discovered that this life is fleeting and we never know when it will end or when someone we love might get sick or die.. It is out of our hands..

Probably the biggest gift of this season is the way I able to see the Lord caring for me and guiding my steps as I stumble along. He makes himself known in many different ways each day. He works through His people to encourage and love me.. He is truly Emmanuel.. GOD WITH US! It is not just a name… it is who He is..

I need him every minute of every day just to continue to have hope and to believe that He will bring good out of this tragedy.. there is no other way to survive. So the name Emmanuel has become real to me this year and I am thankful.

My prayer for you is that you encounter the Lord in this season.. that the things of this world will disappear as you come close to Him.. in your brokenness.. in your grief and sadness.. Christmas is a time to be real with Him to allow Him to become more real to you.. We live in dark times and there are so many things that steal our joy and hope in this dark world.. We need Him more than ever.. He is our sanctuary, our peace and our hope.

love,

Alicia

O Holy Night

“Fall on your knees, oh, hear the angel voices
O night divine, the night when Christ was born
O night divine, o night, o night divine”

Christmas morning is just around the corner. This season of advent is coming to an end and we will once again pick up the pieces and venture into the end of 2015 and the beginning of a new year. Before we do that let’s take the time to remember. Remembering is such an important aspect of our lives with the Lord.

Tonight we are remembering that God interrupted history to become “ one of us.” He came at the perfect time and did the perfect thing for us. He sent his son to become our much needed savior and He broke the chains that held us captive. This is a good time to remember what Jesus said when He was teaching in the temple. The NLT says it this way in Luke 4:18

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free.”

Jesus quoted from Isaiah 61. He told his listeners that He came to fulfill the promises that God set in motion for His people. Their Messiah appeared and they were able to hear His voice and touch Him. They saw the miracles and watched as He began to prove to them that the long awaited moment was upon them. If only we could step back in time and see that baby born, if only we could watch Him grow up and begin to appear in the temple, on the hillsides, in the boat, and at the shore. If only we were there at that moment to truly embrace the fulfillment of God’s promises to His people.

We can’t go back except in our imagination, but we can embrace this very moment in time tonight. We are on the eve of this holy night when all things were changed forever. Jesus entered the world as a helpless baby and became the man who interrupted history to give us everything. For just a few moments, let that sink in. He came to set you free, to restore your sight, and to heal your broken heart. Each day we have the opportunity to remember His goodness and to come closer to the heart of God. He is our redeemer and He brings us peace and rest, as we trust Him.

“O Holy Night
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
‘Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.”

 
Thank you Lord for all that you have done for us, for creating us and loving us. Let this evening be the beginning of a new season. The beginning of a time in our lives when we embrace life with you in a deeper way. Draw us close to your heart and help us to stay on the path with you, trusting you with everything.