Hope in the Chaos

I love preparing for Christmas. I've wrapped gifts, put candles in the windows, and look forward to our children coming home.

I enjoy pondering the Christmas story. The Angel Gabriel visited a young girl to tell her she would give birth to God's son. Mary was pregnant out of wedlock which was punishable by stoning. Joseph heard from the angel in a dream, "Do not to be afraid to marry Mary." Joseph and Mary travel to Bethlehem because of Caesar's census. And then, after their long journey they didn't find a room, so when Mary's time to deliver the baby arrived, they took shelter in a stable.

This is not the kind of preparing I would have liked.

It would be an inconvenience to travel so far to appease a mad king and his lust for power and taxes. I would have been miffed that no one could find room for a pregnant mother to give birth. I'd complain about the stinky stable, wishing for something a bit more comfortable. I think I would be so caught up in the negative details around me that I would have missed the blessing I was meant to receive.

Yet, in the midst of the chaos, there was a thread of God's plan weaving its way through every event.

So, in the midst of the chaotic preparations of this season, will you ask Him to give you eyes to see the wonders of His love. Because He came for you!

What wonder is He revealing to you today?

                       Merry Christmas,

                                   Jeanne

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Photos by Jeanne Doyon