Merry Christmas!

As we celebrate the arrival of baby Jesus into a broken world, a child that would grow up to be our Savior & King, sometimes our heart can forget how to receive this good news amid the busyness. Or we find that our days have left us feeling estranged from a once tangible wonder of Christmastime.

• How has this season been for you?
  

• Perhaps you are delighting in the wonder of the Christmas season this year?
  

• Or perhaps you are wondering how to find wonder once again?
  

• And what it looks like to connect with God in this holy day?

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son,  

Born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons & daughters.  

And because you are sons & daughters, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 

- Galatians 4:4-6

Did you know that the sonship of Jesus--the fact that He dwelt with us as a little baby--means God welcomes all people in all seasons, facing any sort of need or longing, no matter what?

That is the power of His love.

And today, He's welcoming you into the Presence of the Father.

His arms are open wide. 

Take a moment and receive this gift from Him. 

Poet & priest, Malcolm Guite, in this Christmas poem A Tale of Two Gardens, writes about the disconnection we can experience with God, even at Christmas time, and how Jesus's birth can bring fresh life to our hearts.

God's very real pursuit of us through His Son can become a living relationship that leads us on a journey where perfect love begins to infill our broken places and paces. (1 John 4:18)

May these words refresh your soul as you celebrate today...

So now he comes to us again

Not as the Lord Most High

But weak and helpless as we are

That we might hear him cry

The strongest comes in weakness now

A stranger to our door

The king forsakes his palaces

And dwells amongst the poor

And where we hurt he hurts with us

And when we weep he cries

He knows the heart of all our hurts

The inside of our sighs....

May the Lord be so near to you this Christmas and may His arms welcome you into His New Year and all He has in store for you, as you journey with Him.

Looking forward to our paths crossing again

A Tale of Two Gardens

-A Christmas Poem- 

By Malcolm Guite

 

God gave us all a garden once

And walked with us at eve’

That we might know him face to face

With no need to believe

 

But we denied and hid from him

Concealing our own shame

Yet still He came to look for us

And call us each by name

 

He found us where we hid from him

He clothed us in his grace

But still we turned out backs on him

And would not see his face

 

So now he comes to us again

Not as the Lord Most High

But weak and helpless as we are

That we might hear him cry

And he who clothed us in our need

Lies naked in the straw

That we might wrap him in our rags

Whom once we fled in awe

 

The strongest comes in weakness now

A stranger to our door

The king forsakes his palaces

And dwells amongst the poor

 

And where we hurt he hurts with us

And when we weep he cries

He knows the heart of all our hurts

The inside of our sighs

 

He does not look down from above

But gazes up at us

That we might take him in our arms

Who always cradles us

 

And if we welcome him again

With open hands and heart

He’ll plant his garden deep in us

The end from which we start