Write at the Heart

  12 Days of Christ: Day 8 “On earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14) On Christmas Eve we read the nativity story to the kids. They were comfy in their new PJs & full of excitement & Christmas sweets. Just before they headed off to bed, I had the idea to sing a song together: Silent Night. I sat at the piano & the family gathered round. As their voices rang out I thought- ok! This could be a new tradition! It was so special. Until. One kid accidentally did something to offend another kid right in the middle of the song. OF COURSE. Glares were exchanged, snide remarks made, & by the time the song was over they were both steaming mad at each other. Which made ME mad, & I let them know it! Way to ruin a special moment, children! Sigh. Well, my good husband, more patient & mature than me, talked gently to those two kiddos. Pride disappeared, apologies were made, & hugs were had. Then he suggested they sing Silent Night again- just the two of them. This

12 Days of Christ: Day 7 (Better late than never, eh!) “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, & saying, Glory to God in the highest” (Luke 2:13-14) We were getting ready to watch the first session of General Conference back in October when the little neighbor kid came to ask my 8-year-old son to play. My son begged to have him over to watch conference with us. I was hesitant. Moving here from Utah has definitely been different, as we are the religious minority now! What would his parents think? I told him he could stay, but there would be people from our church on the TV talking about Jesus & stuff, & it might get boring, & he could leave whenever he wanted. He was so excited to stay! They quietly played with magnets & cars, & once in awhile would stop & watch the screen. They were both so reverent! Suddenly his friend said, “I’ll be back!” I thought- ok he’s done, haha. To my surprise, he came right back- with

 12 Days of Christ: Day 6 “And she brought forth her firstborn son, & wrapped him in swaddling clothes, & laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:7) The inn was full. Did Joseph & Mary look at each other & think- well… this is not ideal! What now? When they approached the lowly stable, did they think- really? how can we bring forth the Son of God here, of all places? This was not part of the plan. Why didn’t we make a reservation at the inn a week ago!? (JK) I don’t know what they really thought, but I’m sure they felt God with them & worked with Him to make sure His Son made it here safely. They knew whatever happened, it would be ok.  And it was. O, holy night. I’m curious what Mary & Joseph think of the way we tell their story? The details we’ve filled in for them? The many different nativity sets we display? When they laid baby Jesus in the manger could they have known people all over the world would have makeshift mange

12 Days of Christ: Day 5 “And [Elisabeth] spake out with a loud voice, & said, Blessed art thou among women, & blessed is the fruit of thy womb.” (Luke 2:42) Mary- a young maiden, engaged, never known a man. Elisabeth- “well stricken in years,” (1:18), married, barren.  Different circumstances, ages, life experiences. Until an angel’s visit changes everything. The impossible is made possible as they both find themselves with child. Not just any children- but spirits prophesied to change the world! Spirits meant to come down only a few months apart. Spirits eternally connected in purpose, one preparing the way for the other. My heart is tender as I think of Mary & Elisabeth! I love that the angel tells Mary her cousin is also pregnant! I love that she went “with haste” (39) to visit her! How comforted she must have felt knowing she wasn’t alone in this miraculous conception & divine calling! We don’t know how well they knew each other, how long it’d been since they’d see

  12 Days of Christ: Day 4 “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, & are come to worship him” (Matt. 2:2) She got in my car. I was giving her a ride to church. We were strangers. She told me she has spent most of her life not trusting people- mostly men- due to much childhood trauma.  She also told me she has spent most of her life not trusting religion- due to terrible past experiences. She had thought, if there was a God, why did all these bad things happen? So it was a surprise to her that when the missionaries knocked on her door, she immediately felt she could trust them. It didn’t make sense. She thought she’d try out church. Then she thought she’d try out more lessons. I was able to sit in on a few, & I saw something incredible. That negative, skeptical woman who doubted God, religion, her very worth… she changed before my eyes. I watched her mind blown by the plan of salvation. Her realization that God knew her & loved her.

12 Days of Christ: Day 3 “For unto us a ​​​child​ is ​​​born​, unto us a ​​​son​ is given” (Isaiah 9:12) The baby Jesus, the center of our nativity story. The Son of God willingly came down as a tiny baby. Think about that! A helpless tiny baby in need of food & clothing, love & care, soothing, swaddling! Learned to crawl & walk. Subject to harm. Did He cry? Did Mary kiss his owies better? Did He have a favorite lullaby? Oh how I’d love to see that Baby Jesus! Feel His little fingers wrap around mine. Cradle Him & sway. How surreal would that be? Savior of the world. Didn’t skip right to His ministry, didn’t fast-forward to get things over with- no. He started as an infant in the most modest of circumstances. Couldn’t the all mighty God have chosen another way? Couldn’t He have “whooshed” His powerful hand & saved mankind? He didn't have to watch His Son go through mortal trials & sufferings of the most harrowing kind. But He did. He sent us someone who woul

12 Days of Christ: Day 2 “And they came with haste, & found Mary, & Joseph, & the babe lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:16) I had a realization a couple weeks ago. An embarrassingly obvious one. I WAS DOING IT ALL BACKWARDS. Somehow I’d let the little things get in the way of the big, important things. AGAIN.  Enough! So I made a commitment to myself: the very first thing I would do every day is get my spiritual well-being back on track. Prayer, scripture study, journaling. Invite the Spirit in FIRST THING. Stop getting anxious about the rest of the “to-do” list. Work on the “to-be” list! I was “doing” many things without “becoming” much of anything. Upon hearing the good news, the shepherds HASTENED to see Jesus Christ. I’d love to see what their “haste” looked like! “Bob, will you watch the sheep for me? I gotta go!” Did they run? 😊 No wasting time, no distractions. Their to-do list put aside, their priorities realigned. Their focus on something else now. A child. They came t

12 Days of Christ: Day 1 “Fear not.” The message of comfort littered throughout the scriptures.  Throughout the Christmas story. To Mary. To Joseph. To the shepherds. Fear Not. Awhile ago my child was dangling off a metaphorical cliff.  It was terrifying. How did I let this happen? How could I save my child? It was uncharted territory. I had no idea where to turn. I spoke many desperate prayers. I found myself led to someone who could help. Really & truly help. The circumstances leading me to that point, to this specific person, was more than coincidental.  A literal God-send. More than once I have looked at them & thought to myself: “You are an answer to our prayers.” Months later & my child is finally on solid ground. We are working daily to step farther & farther away from the edge of that cliff. It is still too close for comfort. But that cold & sickening fear is being replaced with faith. Hope. Healing. I have seen miracles. My child, who was slowly disappearin