December 21
2015
And the Countdown Begins!
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
“And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.”
Luke 1:14-15
Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying,
“Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”
Luke 1:24-25
Another week
THE week
Only 4 sleeps until the big day
Are you excited?
Nico the kitty and I have been cleaning the house
REALLY cleaning
The solid clean and toss thing.
As I thought about Christmas and how close it is
I also thought about how busy the last few weeks have been
And then I thought
“When will I get some quiet time to really reflect on the gift of Christmas?”
The time goes so quickly and before we know it, it will be past.
As I was reading the Christmas story this morning I thought on Elizabeth and her reaction to the “gift” of a child
Zacharias and Elizabeth waited long for this child
They were beyond the point of hope when the angel appeared to Zacharias and told him that their child was on the way
When Elizabeth found out she was “with child”
“she hid herself away five months”.
There are lots of thoughts on why she hid herself away
But this morning I thought
Perhaps she wanted to be alone to reflect and enjoy this most wonderful gift
The thing she waited so long for.
No rushing about
No sharing with everyone that passed by
But time alone
With her and God
And this precious gift.
What a lovely thought
To sit alone with our Heavenly Father
And reflect
And be thankful for the many gifts He has bestowed upon us
Even when we have been beyond hope.
Think about the gift of Christmas
The Christ Child
Emmanuel
God with us.
God, come as a baby, among us
In the midst of us
With us.
And then look ahead to the Cross
The gift of Eternal Life
The restoration of that eternal walk and relationship with the Father.
Seems to be to be a gift worthy of time set apart
To reflect
And be thankful
Truly thankful.
Take the time this Christmas
Before it too is past
And a new year is upon us.
Take time this Christmas
To sit with the Father
To walk with the Savior
To rest in the power of the Holy Spirit.
To marvel once again at the mystery.