Oh that God would give every mother a vision of the glory and splendor of the work that is given to her when a babe is place in her bosom to be nursed and trained! Could she have but one glimpse in to the future of that life as it reaches on into eternity; could she look into it's soul to see its possibilities; could she be made to understand her own personal responsibility for the training of this child, for the development of its life, and for its destiny,--she would see that in all God's world there is no other work so noble and so worthy of her best powers, and she would commit to no others hands the sacred and holy trust given to her." -JR Miller

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Preparations

Whether it's because I am entering the third trimester of pregnancy this Christmas or just that I'm listening with the children to some Christmas stories, I'm not sure but I know that I am struck by how God sent His son into the world to be born. There was not even a proper cot!! We get so wound up sometimes over the birth of our babies (or I do a bit) wanting to be ready, have the cot out, have everything in order etc but sometimes God doesn't work like that - I mean Mary and Joseph had to travel all the way to Bethlehem while she was pregnant - not ideal we would say, and then there was no room at the inn so he ended up in a stable!! With a feeding trough as his bed - how would we feel if we didn't even have a cot for a baby? Would we think that God had abandoned us? Or that He wasn't looking after us and providing? I wonder if Mary struggled with these thoughts or if she just trusted God? And can we? Can we trust that although it may not always look like it on the outside that God has our best interests at heart? That He has His eye on the bigger picture and knows more than we do, and what makes no sense to us makes perfect sense to Him? And when we look at others are we quick to judge and say that they must not be following God because things are not working out for them? Or do we encourage them to trust God and offer support where we can? Lets remember as we celebrate Christmas that although things don't always make sense to us God is still in control! And lets not lose the wonder and amazement that Jesus was not born in a nice comfy palace but a stable - yet God was there and knew exactly what He was doing!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

You are so right on. Blessing- Kim

Deedee said...

I'm not sure what it is this year, but I keep getting all misty eyed thinking about God's gift of a savior to us! Thanks for sharing - Deedee