There was a whole lot of waiting that went on before the Christ child was born. Years and years. Generations and generations. Folks spent their time making a life, but also glancing at the broad sky and wondering if the story was true. If the promise was large with life or just one big empty space with pretty twinkling lights.
We too wait. We wait for the days to click down to the eve. The eve of new birth, new hope, and newly made bravery. And while we wait, we create, because the God of all Creation is about to finalize His most perfect art. Jesus, the Christ child, lies entombed in the womb of a girl just barely turned woman. And while her body is bulging at the whole beautiful mess, we hover here at home and wait for that booming Gloria in excelsis Deo!
We count days, and light candles, and play carols on the old black upright piano. We marvel at the art of a manger scene made out of straw that Ben brought back from Africa last year. And we sit around the farm table each evening and read through scripture. We follow the journey of the Jesse Tree created by Ann Voskamp, and remarkably, but not shockingly, find ourselves in just about every page. Along with the creating of all-things-Christmas, we too have created sins that are messy and worth hiding from. We’ve created ways to break rules, and break promises, and break hearts. But God reminds us that He broke code and sent His Son, who would create a love connection with us like nothing we’d ever felt before, and then He would allow himself to be broken on a tree with our names carved into the palms of His hands.
A Blue Spruce stands boldly in our small living room. The kids have opened tins and reminisced over each ornament before choosing a branch to hang it from, and it’s a reassurance to me that we also have become a branch, chosen to grow with a little bit of new bravery from a family tree etched with royalty and guaranteed to extend into eternity.
So in this season of creating, I want to remind you to read through the Bible which holds THE most beautiful love story you’ll ever come across. A masterpiece woven with words that wind themselves into wounded hearts and usher in glory.
kathy brower 