Dec 10th, 2020: Christmas Blessings - Being with God and Ourselves

We are coming to that point of not having anyone coming home for Christmas. Our daughters are not living in the same city and their respective province has pretty strict restrictions for travel. Our son and his wife won't be to join us either even though they live in our city. Our oldest daughter called her mom and asked: "What are you guys going to do for Christmas?" The answer is the same, we will play it by ear. It is too early to know. Maybe it is a good time to consider how to be with God and ourselves,  knowing that there is little we can do with others this Christmas.

It is time to be at peace with life. It doesn't mean that everything is going great. It simply means that the external circumstances won't be able to dominate our life plan. True freedom is more than being able to do what we would like to do and go where we would like to go. It is about us being free with God so that we can upload to Him our worries and concerns in managing our life.

It is time to be at peace with ourselves. We might want to learn how to accept ourselves. Christmas tells us that we don't have to be perfect to be loved by God. When we learn how to accept who we are, we might be able to express the goodness of God more effectively to others. 

It is time to receive the love of God more fully. It is not about what we can accomplish in this life. It is about how we live our lives with an eternal gracious perspective. Sometimes we are so bogged down by the burden of this life that we forget how to live. Life is a gift and it needs to be lived out in the service of others.

"The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me. O LORD, Your loving devotion endures forever—do not abandon the works of Your hands." - Psalm 138: 8


Popular posts from this blog

Aug 31st, 2024: Confession

Image
Dealing with pain sometimes affects our ability and flexibility. A physiotherapist friend gave me a set of home exercises to help with that. They are simple yet intense at the same time. Dealing with our human brokenness sometimes affects our ability to see and hear God. Our commitment to spiritual disciplines must be at the core of our relationship with God. One of the disciplines I have been trying to embrace more fully is confession. It’s not just about recognizing where we have gone wrong; it’s about how we have chosen to live our lives independently from God. It’s about whether we truly want God to be part of our lives. The absence of meaningful confession will damage our freedom to experience intimacy with God. "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." - Proverbs 28:13
Read more

Sept 4th, 2024: Praying in Images

Image
It has been a rough few days. Living in immense pain does not allow us much energy to think about anything. I ended up praying in images, and not many words came out of my mouth. Most of the images were of people I know. God knew that I was praying for them as their faces came to my mind. I did not need to mention the circumstances or situations of their lives—He knows. My heart was at peace as I ended my days with these images. He will take care of my body, and I know this because I was able to get some sleep. Tomorrow is in His hands.
Read more

Oct 1st, 2022: Be With Those Who Suffer

Image
  Listening to a young woman who shared her experience of being raped repeatedly by a family member for over four years as a teenager made my heart ache. The man who did that was a leader of a church. He was imprisoned for seven months and released. He was her stepfather. Her mother chose to pick him over her after his release. Her life has changed forever. She had to go to a foster home. Her foster parents helped her with her restoration and her faith in God. Her supervisor at work asked me to see her because someone at work was inappropriate toward her. That triggered many emotions within her. I did not expect the story I heard from her. The meeting took longer than I thought, and it was toward the end of the day. She kept talking about her anger and the pain she felt when men treated her like a subject. I knew that the best I could do was to listen. She told me she had not been able to tell anyone as much as with me. God reminded me of the true calling of being a pas...
Read more