Christmas Musings

 

So, all my life I have thought of the manger and Nativity story from the perspective of there being no room for Jesus. This year it resonated differently.

 While true, there were no rooms at the inn, a small space was made for Jesus in a manger and it was enough of a space to allow God's love to multiply, save a whole world, and send light into all corners of it. If the impact can be so vast in just that tiny, small space, imagine how impactful Jesus can be in the small, darkened recesses of our own lives. If...we let him in. 

One of the dreams Paul and I have is one day building our own house. Once when we were really enjoying looking for design ideas online, Paul showed me this stages house (best way to describe it.)  Basically, it was a home design that was made to add on to. The basic plan was a small, straightforward starter house. It came with an add on that could be easily added later with minimal effort once kids came. A final add-on transitioned the house into a space suitable for caring for an elderly relative. In essence, the house breathed and grew WITH the owners, and it was what each family needed in the season that they were in.  

The idea of that reminds me of Jesus. When I first contemplated being a believer, I was intimidated. I saw seasoned believers and heard sermons about turning everything over to this Jesus and about not sinning and well...I was a control freak who liked to have her life just so and I sinned even when I didn't want to over and over and over. I remember feeling like maybe I wasn't ready to follow Him because I didn't have enough head and heart space to dedicate to "being Christian." The whole " I will start my new healthy lifestyle choices when I finally have that guest room cleared out so I can get that home gym equipment I envision having when I actually do this."

Thankfully, Jesus doesn't wait for us to be perfect before he accepts our RSVP card to join Him. He doesn't wait until we have the palace level temple built in our heart. He sends the Holy Spirit to us in the midst of our crowded messiness. 

I had a childhood friend, Tracy, who passed away several years ago. She and I used to spend the night with each other every chance we got. Countless days, our parents would gather to chat on the weekends at my house and we would devise a plan to get operation sleep over oked. Invariably my mother would say, yes....if your room is clean.  lol My room was NEVER clean. But, without missing a beat, Tracy would squeal excitedly, and we would run off to my filthy room. She would pick up a toy, tell me a made-up story about how we were detectives looking through evidence (LOTS of evidence was usually all over my floor) and in no time there was space in my room for our sleepover sleeping bags. She met me right there in my messy and Jesus does that too. 

In fact, this fact... the idea that Jesus' light grows exponentially from just a single small "yes spark" has been one of the sweetest aspects of my Christian walk. It is also what makes this journey I am now on bearable/doable. 

I still don't feel like I have the palace temple level built...but I have had the opportunity to do a few add on builds during my walk over the years and I have been comforted knowing that Jesus sits with me eagerly in all of my spaces, fills His light in it all, and is the kind of God that sits in the midst of my messy and helps me sort it all out. 

Merry Christmas everyone! 

I pray that you all had a beautiful day, surrounded by love and family. 

I feel like this is for someone specific, If you have been hesitating on getting to know Jesus, If you feel like He is good for others, but He can't possibly be ready for you and all of your "stuff." Know that He loves you wholly and completely right here in this very moment.  He already has an invitation with your name on it written and He is looking forward to doing YOUR life WITH you.