Comfort

the gift of comfort from Amanda

"If the wise men had been women ..." the joke opens, "... asked directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable..." diminishing males in applauding females.

My heart is reminded Mary and Martha, sisters -- Mary at the feet of Jesus, listening to His teachings; Martha in the kitchen. It is Martha that Jesus invites into a new role, to leave the kitchen, to sit at His feet and learn.

Later in the story, the roles are reversed. It is Martha who goes out to meet Jesus, and Mary who stays at home.

As the story unfolds, neither woman is diminished. Both are invited, valued, purposed, loved.

If today you find yourself exhausted by the tasks of Christmas, sit down, be restful, wrap yourself in comfort, enjoy the silence, mute the noise.

Listen to your heart. God is there.

Rw

and the child grew

In these weeks of Advent my soul is strengthen by the words, the story of Christmas, as told in Luke, Chapters 1 and 2.

Today the words of Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist, spoke at the birth of his son: And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
    for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
⁷⁷ to give knowledge of salvation to his people
    in the forgiveness of their sins,
⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God,
    whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
⁷⁹ to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

⁸⁰ And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel. – Luke 1:76-80 ESV

In these days, the first Christmas following the death of my husband, I miss the words of encouragement, the call to be a person of peace, to grow and become strong in spirit – and I am most grateful for his words, spoken over our children for the past 31 years.

Rw

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