6th Truth of Christmas- I'm Right On Time

For most of my life, I have struggled with feeling like I am about two steps behind everyone else. When my friends were having their summer break, I was still doing school. When other people were eating dinner, I was eating a late lunch. When all my peers were driving, I still hadn't gotten my quota of practice hours in yet.

I know I'm not alone in this. This Christmas season especially has everyone freaking out, running late, feeling like the calendar is looming over their heads with a blinking red light on the 25th.

I have even felt that I must have been born in the wrong time, or that God must have made a mistake when He chose the year for me to start my life. Not that I actually believe this, but there are places in my heart where I feel that I could be more effective if I were older, wiser, etc.

Several years ago I read a book that went more in depth on the life of Christ. There were many neat things that stood out to me, but there was one fact that still continues to amaze me to this day.

Jesus was born at the beginning of the Roman Empire.

Why is this important? The Roman Empire is known for two things (1) its powerful military that allowed it to conquer most of the known world, creating one of the largest empires in history (2) Rome was known for its architectural masterpieces such as paved roads, which connected the empire and revolutionized travel in the ancient world.

Jesus was born at the beginning of the most internationally connected era in ancient history. By the time he was a grown man, Rome had only increased in power. By the time the early Church began, Rome was very strong and very connected, which enabled the spread of the gospel to happen with incredible speed.

Let that sink in for a bit. What if Jesus had been born a few hundred years before? He might not have had to deal with those rude Romans, but practically speaking, the impact of the gospel would have taken longer to go into effect.

What if Jesus had been born a few hundred years later, during the Dark Ages? Growth was nigh stunted in some parts of the world for centuries, due to the chaos and disconnected nature of the Dark Ages. Instability reigned supreme for hundreds of years, and it wasn't until the Renaissance that life and progress really began to happen on a more international scale. If the gospel hadn't already been spread and taken root across the world before that era, who knows what would have happened?

Maybe it is because I am a total history nerd that I find this concept so amazing. But I don't think that is the whole of it. What really amazes me about this fact, is that it shows me yet again that God has a plan. He has a grand timeline of history, He knows all things that were, that are, and that have yet to be.

He knows when to make things happen in the right time for the right outcome.

When I was little, I used to wish that I had been born in the American pioneer days. I was obsessed with cowboys and covered wagons. The idea of crossing vast prairies to begin a new life in the mysterious west was utterly thrilling and romantic to me.

That was a childish daydream. But as time has gone on, I have often wished I was somewhere else than where I currently was, or am at the moment. And then one day, it hit me.

I was born at the beginning of the Internet Empire.

Being a child of the nineties, I am a member of that unique generation who are just old enough to remember the pre-cell phone/email/worldwideweb age; but we are also the generation of children/teens who were growing up when that great divide was crossed. And the world is forever changed because of it.

I live in the most connected time in all of history. Within seconds, I could reach millions of people across the globe in spite of time, distance, language barriers, experience, and different background. None of these factors are major hindrances to me.

What an incredible thing it is to be alive right now. What an incredible opportunity I have to make an impact on the world. One of the greatest fears I have had in my life is that I won't make a difference in the world. But when I stop and think about the few pieces of God's master plan that I have glimpsed, my fears are soothed.

God knows what He is doing. He sent Jesus at the exact right moment in history so that His Church would be born most effectively.

I'm not Jesus, but God has given me a role to play in the timeline of His-Story. Everything, from the year I was born to how long it took me to get my driver's license are all a part of His plan for me.

I'm not running late, and I'm not too early. I am right on time.

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Want to read about the previous Truths of Christmas? Catch up on Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5.

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1st Truth of Christmas- Joy is MINE

I always loved the word "JOY".

I can remember being just a little tyke, in Sunday school. Each week, the teachers would write up a Bible verse in colorful Sharpies, and then post it on the wall in our classroom.

The very first verse we ever posted was about having a joyful heart. I don't remember the exact location, but it was somewhere in Psalms or Proverbs; however, I can remember that the verse was written in red marker with a squiggly line of orange around the border. And in the top right corner, was a great big red heart. I adored that verse, I looked at it every Sunday, feasting my eyes on the giant red heart which screamed "JOY" to me.

When our teachers told us that at the end of the teaching course, each kid could pick out one of the verses to take home, I knew instantly which one would be mine. I watched that Bible verse like a hawk, making sure none of the other kids seemed too interested in claiming it for their own.

Finally, the Sunday came when the verses were being taken off of the wall and distributed. For those kids who didn't have a favorite picked out, random verses were given. But I had made my choice weeks before, and I didn't waste any time, "I want THAT one!" I pointed very firmly at my joy verse. The teachers casually handed it to me, completely unaware of the amount of time and thought I had put into claiming my prize.

I looked down at the precious verse, the big, beautiful, red heart staring up at me from the paper.

Joy was mine!

I have been on the lookout for joy my whole life, searching for the sunshine, the beauty, the laughter.

The deepest joy I have ever felt was the day that I accepted Jesus. I was five years old. Mama told me about Jesus, and about heaven. I can remember how it physically felt, like a fountain, bubbling up from my very soul. I felt light and airy, I was jumping on the couch for joy, SO MUCH JOY!

Even at that age, I could feel the difference. Ever since that day, I have never experienced joy as deep as that. Sometimes, very rarely, I get a hint, a taste, and my appetite increases. I crave joy like I would a delectable dessert.

I know I am not alone in this. Every single human being on planet earth desires to feel joy. We want to laugh, jump, dance, and to cry for joy!

But we live in a fallen world, surrounded by sorrow, suffering, and darkness. Where are we supposed to find the joy?

I have cried out to God many times, "Where is the joy? How do I find it? I feel so dark, I feel like I'm drowning!"

Often, joy feels like a creature that has almost gone extinct.

But has it? Or are we just looking in the wrong place? Or, do I have a wrong expectation of what joy is?

Mary, the mother of Jesus, was just a teenager living in a pretty scary time. Foreigners held her land captive, she was to be married to a man whom she might have only recently met, and, oh yeah, she was pregnant before her wedding night, with the Son of God.

Tack on a journey of over a hundred miles on the back of a bony donkey, all ending in birthing the Son of God surrounded by animals and manure. Can you imagine the fear and the darkness that had to be surrounding her? All of the thoughts and torments swirling around in her head, "What if I fall off of this donkey and my baby gets hurt? What if the Romans stop us on our journey, and Joseph dies protecting me? What if I can't handle being the mother to God's only son? What if God chose the wrong woman?"

It would have been hard to find anything to feel joy about. Even the place she had to birth her baby in is like every pregnant woman's worst nightmare.

She had to choose joy in that moment, despite her fears, despite her uncertainties about the future, Mary had to have chosen joy. In that precious time, cuddling her Savior, Jesus, in her arms, surrounded by hay, sheep, shepherds, and manure; Mary had to choose joy.

To choose joy, is to continually choose to keep your eyes on Jesus.

Joy to the world, the Lord has come...

Joy, joy is often a choice. It is not based upon circumstances, upon good weather, or upon a perfection.

Just like my Bible verse, we must keep our eyes on the joy of Jesus and the Father, not allow anyone or anything to take it from us, and then, claim it loudly!

This Christmas, Joy is MINE!

Twelve Truths of Christmas

I'll admit, a fraction of me feels like just putting my head down and shuffling through Christmas this year.

In my own mind, I'm shouting "Blasphemy!" to myself. I'm usually all about Christmas, by July 7th I'm ready to start putting up the tree.

I'm all about hope, which is what Christmas means to me.

I'm all about sparkly lights.

I'm all about presents.

I'm all about the music, the people, the food, the meaning, the stories, the memories, and on, and on, and on.

I should feel thrilled, even more than usual this year, because this is my first Christmas as a graduated "adult". Yes, to all of those nineteen to twenty-five year old's out there, you know exactly why I put the word adult in quotation marks. At this point, I am assuming that once you reach the heightened age of twenty-six this whole adult thing will begin to make some sense.

I should feel all of that, the joy, the sparkles, the warmth....

....but I don't.

Life has been hard for me and my family for the last couple of years. We have been in a really difficult living situation that just keeps getting more cramped and hard to live in. God has really done a lot of painful work in our hearts over the last few years, digging up things and forcing us to work on them.

The last few years have been really great when it comes to growth, and I wouldn't trade this season for anything. I have matured so much.

But I'm tired, I want to move on, to the next place, literally, I want to get to a different house. Maybe I sound like a whiner, but certain things like AC, a furnace, less mold, and other things seem fairly reasonable to me.

So what does this have to do with Christmas? This: life just feels too messy and hard to fit Christmas into.

I know, that sounds nuts, doesn't it? But it's how I feel. Trying to fit Christmas in around all of the messy chaos of my life sounds so hard. And I know for a fact, I am not the only one who feels this.

Across America, across the world, there are millions of people who live busy, chaotic, and messy lives. And millions of those people celebrate Christmas.

Should we all just put our head down and shuffle through the holidays when we don't feel put together enough to celebrate? Should we just forget about the joy this season, and feel sad about the things that don't feel right? Not that Christmas will ever look like it does on Hallmark Channel, but, I have had more orderly Christmases before.

It's tempting, it may be really lame, but in a sense, it does sound easier to close up rather than trying to engage this celebration.

That is how I feel...

...but that is how I refuse to live.

I REFUSE to allow my Christmas to be taken from me by the troubles of this world and my own heart. I refuse to let joy slip away and be replaced by gray clouds. I refuse to let this season pass in a blur.

This Christmas, I choose to eagerly grab onto truth, life, and joy. This Christmas is precious, and beautiful, and just what I need right at this moment in my life.

I want to share this choice with you, and so, I have decided to write about Twelve Truths of Christmas that I am going to focus on this year. Starting on Sunday the 13th, I will be sharing a single truth each day, something precious that I am focusing on this Christmas season.

Join me. Don't let this precious season pass you by. I know life feels hard, maybe you are depressed, maybe your circumstances are less than ideal. But this is our Christmas, this is our Savior, and this season about our hope and joy!

Merry Christmas! See you all on Sunday for Day 1- Joy.