He Knows Us...

There have been so many times this past month that I have wanted to write, blog, and attempt to put into words what I have been feeling this Advent Season.  Every morning at 6am I have woken up, poured a cup of coffee, and have lit one small candle in the darkness.  It has been my attempt to silence all the noise and chaos that can come with the season and to bask in the wonder of this God who has literally come to be with us.  Several weeks ago, I felt like God was impressing on me to "see things from his perspective."  I had read the passage in Colossians 3:1-2 that says, "So if you're serious about living this new Resurrection life with Christ, act like it.  Pursue the things over which Christ presides.  Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you.  Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ-that's where the action is.  SEE THINGS FROM HIS PERSPECTIVE.

There have been some incredible moments this Advent Season of total joy and wonder.  As I have watched Biruk place ornaments on the Christmas Tree, scream out "Santa" in the mall, beg to open his Advent Calendar, point to Baby Jesus over and over again in our nativity, joy and wonder have continued to pour out in our home.  While I wish that those moments were the only kind we would ever experience during the Advent Season, I know that is not the reality of this world we live in.  As I have found myself praying that God would help me to "see things from his perspective," I have realized just how hard this season is for so many people.  I remember being one of those people two Christmases ago, as I longed for God to answer the prayer of our heart to have a family.  That Christmas Season, I struggled to find joy and I felt as though I was losing the wonder.

I had to remind myself that while we long for our sadness to be removed, our circumstances to change, our feelings of hopelessness, loneliness and depression to disappear, God has not let us go.  He is not a distant God, although it may feel like it at times.  He is a God who is present...He is our Father...and he has sent his son Jesus into this world to be GOD WITH US.  He knows us, he gets our hurt, he understands our pain, and he can be trusted with it.

I was running on the treadmill yesterday, thinking about some of the people in my own life for whom tomorrow will be a struggle, when the lyrics to a song by Bethel Worship came on:

So let go my soul and trust in Him
The waves and wind still know His name
It is well with my soul
It is well with my soul
It is well with my soul
It is well with my soul

I had to keep myself from losing it, because I was reminded again of the truth that is wrapped up in this Christmas Season...God has entered this world to be with us.  For the girls in my youth group whose Father is in jail this Christmas, he knows you and loves you.  For my friends who lost a parent this past year, he knows your pain and he loves you.  For my colleague who is struggling to feel joy, he knows you and he loves you.  For the friend who is still waits for a child...he knows you and loves you.  For the parents in my youth group whose teenagers are lost and broken...he knows you and loves you.  For family members struggling with divorce...he gets your pain and loves you.  For the lost, the hurting, and the broken he is right there.  


Even on the days where joy and wonder are a struggle, may we be reminded that Christ has not only entered our broken and pain filled world, but he is knows us, loves us, and it is well.






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