Skip to main content

Experiencing

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.  And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
John 1:14,16 

 And in these last few days, it becomes personal.  We have built up our sense of longing.  We have tried to prepare our hearts.  We have heard again the stories of those who were part of that first Christmas.  And now the Word is ready to dwell with us.  Are we ready to see his glory?  to receive grace?  to experience all that he has for us?

 If you're like me, you may still be thinking, "no! I'm not ready!"  The Christmas cake only has marzipan on it, there's tons of people we never did send a Christmas card to, and the presents - well, they'll probably get wrapped by Christmas Eve.  And even after all this Advent blogging, I still feel  much more like a dusty old stable than a sparkling house.

 But you know what?  Christmas Day will arrive on Wednesday regardless.  And if I spend it looking at all the things I never got done, I won't enjoy it at all.  But if I make the decision to fully experience the day - the family, friends, carols, presents - then I probably won't even remember those cute decorations I didn't get around to making.

 And Jesus, fortunately, doesn't wait until we've got ourselves all cleaned up and perfect.  He plunges right in, dusty stable and all, and says, "Hey, I'm here now.  Just look at me, and I'll deal with all those things you thought you had to do."

 So, ready or not, let's make the decision to experience Christmas, and to experience Christ.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

National Forest Way: The End!

The National Forest Way finishes at Beacon Hill, Leicestershire, with beautiful wide-ranging views in all directions. I'd been hoping for a sunny day, and this one certainly fit the bill. The frosty earth lay under a glorious canopy of shining blue sky. I parked at Swithland Wood, close to where we finished the previous walk. Finding the waymarker on the first gate was bittersweet - this was the last time I would be following these familiar circles.   Swithland Wood had been acquired by the Rotary Club in 1931, and later passed on to Bradgate Park Trust. The lumpy terrain was due to slate quarrying. I skirted a couple of fenced-off pits. As I left the wood, I passed a lake which I assumed was another flooded quarry, but with an odd little tower next to the water. I followed a road up a steady hill towards Woodhouse Eaves. Many of the houses were surrounded by walls of the local slate. Woodhouse Eaves was a prosperous-looking village with some nice old buildings. Crossing the wide ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Original Limestone Way

Back in March, I finished a blog post with the words: "If I disappear for two sunny days, I'll be walking from Matlock to Castleton." And on a hot sunny day in August, Mom and I put on our hiking shoes and did exactly that, following the original route of the Limestone Way. Day 1 First, there was a hill: a steady climb through fields and along holly-enclosed paths, with a wide view up the Derwent Valley as our reward. We dropped down again on a stone-paved track and emerged in the village square at Bonsall. The cross was decked with rainbow ribbons, and bunting fluttered above us. All very cheerful. Another ascent took us to Upper Town, and then we were out into open fields heading towards Winster. The Limestone Way seemed a little shy of villages; the official route often avoided them. Mom and I preferred to visit, though, and enjoy such delights as public conveniences, postbox toppers and the local church. Winster is a pretty little place, I'm glad we didn't mi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Monthly Munch: July

The weather this month has been beautiful, so we've been out enjoying it as much as we can - fruit picking, fete attending, gardening and walking.  Preschool is finished for the summer; I've planned weekly themes in an effort to stay sane during the holidays, so expect a few activity posts coming up. Toby He wanted me to make a box into a TV.  Here he is eating his lunch in it. - has made friends with the girls next door, and is getting much more confident socially - still insists on always wearing odd socks - has been loving the sandbox our neighbours gave us.  Apparently they nicknamed him "The Sandman" at preschool due to his love of digging - pounced on a writing practice book I bought him, and worked his way all the way through to P, doing really well at tracing all the letters. - won the hula hoop race at his first preschool sports day Athlete in action One of his great big Megabloks trucks Drawing a car with about a million wind...
Post a Comment
Read more