Clothesline - Edition 230

By Rev. Elizabeth L. Nelson, Pastor

December 18, 2024  

It’s exactly one week until Christmas. Anticipation is building. Christmas cards are coming in. Plans have been made. And the waiting begins…

Waiting for what? Some people are waiting for relatives to arrive from another part of the country. Some of us will be traveling to be with sons and daughters and grandchildren. It’s much easier for the grandparents to travel, they would say, because of everything that goes on in a home with young children at Christmas…and I would agree. Waiting for Christmas morning with little ones is magically.

Still, there are those who are alone at Christmas—some by choice, some because a loved one has been taken from them. What are they waiting for? Perhaps the strength to get through another holiday…maybe the ability to see the holidays in a new light. I don’t know the answer to that question. Still, they too are among the “waiting.”

The recent news has been filled lately with shootings of police officers and innocent children. Will Christmas be forever a memory of pain and sadness for those left behind? I don’t know the answer to that either, but we must go back to the story of that first Christmas and what it meant then…what it means now.

Our world is certainly different than what it was two thousand years ago…or is it? Think about it. We so freely say that the world is different, that the world has changed. And maybe in some ways it has. But let’s look at the facts.

Joseph’s and Mary’s stories—personally and collectively—were filled with unsolvable problems, difficult family issues, leaders who did not always make helpful decisions, along with “how in the world are we going to do all that God wants us to do?” Does any of that sound familiar? Of course it does! It’s what we call the ups and downs of life.

Our first and final hope, when life isn’t what we planned for, is in our faith and trust in God. It is God that gets us through everything. It is the presence of God in our lives that warms our hearts when life is cold. It is our faith in God that brings the anticipation of yet another Christmas, and it is our faith in God that brings happy memories to light when life seems to have stolen our happiness.

No matter your circumstances, give your heart over to the child in the manger. His resting place so long ago was on a bed of hay, but his choice is to rest in your heart this Christmas. Let Him bring you the love and joy only He can bring.

O come, O come Emmanuel…