December 21
Scripture: Luke 1:28
Source author: Scoti Springfield Domeij
December 21
The Gifts of Christmas The Lord is with you! —Luke 1:28
Pain pillaged the first Christmases my sons and I spent without their father. I felt as helpless as that babe in a manger thrust into a cold, inhospitable world. Haunted by the spirit of happy Christmases past, I mourned the loss of our family’s meaningful rituals. What single parent has not experienced Mary’s feelings? Astonished, perplexed, afraid, anxious, and incredulous. On the first Christmas, Mary and Joseph confronted a difficult moral situation—a pregnant bride-to-be. Wagging tongues surely gossiped. Their social prestige was near zero. The innkeeper rejected Mary and Joseph, forcing them to find shelter wherever they could. Their precious baby was born into poverty. The financial hardship and emptiness of my lonely Christmas engulfed me in depression. And then the God of disguise and surprise came to reside right where I lived, just as He did that first Christmas. The words of the real God, the warm God, engaged my cold heart right where I was—needy, helpless, despondent, weak, and angry. Emmanuel—God with us— wrapped me in His amazing gifts—new life and the true spirit of
Christmas.
Just as God was with the people of the first Christmas in their scary situations, He is with us. — Scoti Springfield Domeij —