Thursday, January 3, 2008

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. It was a blessing to not have the computer to distract me from all that Christmas is supposed to be about. I have pictures that I will upload soon, but for now I wanted to pop in to share something I learned this Christmas.

Since I became an adult, perhaps even a teenager, I've been searching for that warm fuzzy feeling at Christmas. No matter what holiday tradition I tried to incorporate it was just missing. Sure, I'd fake it till I made it, but inside, I was, well, kind of empty. What makes this the most sad, is that I am a Christian, and in my mind, very much understood the meaning of Christmas. But until this Christmas, I'm not sure what I knew in my mind ever made it to my heart.

As I was moping around, sometimes hiding it, sometimes not :( , it hit me. THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME! The real meaning of Christmas still remains whether or not I have the warm fuzzies. The real meaning of Christmas is that God sent His Son, Jesus, to be born, of a virgin woman, in order to face a horrible death. Why did He do this? Because He loves me, He loves you. God sent His Son to die to pay the penalty for our sins. In a few months, we will celebrate on Easter, because Jesus did not remain in the grave. No, He was victorious over death, and could not be kept there in the tomb. Jesus is alive today, and we can have life through Him. Having life, eternal life, starts by believing this in your heart, and then confessing it with your mouth. Friend, if you haven't ever done this, please don't let this new year go by another day without praying a prayer similar to this:

"Dear Lord. I am so sorry for the sin in my life. I believe in You, and believe that You sent Your Son, Jesus, to die for my sins so that I can have eternal life. Please Lord come into my heart, my life, and be my Savior. In Jesus' name Amen." Really, it can be as easy as that. As it says in Romans 10:9 says if you believe this in your heart, you will be saved. If you said this prayer, I would love to pray for you, so please leave me a comment so I can do that!

Ironically, once I surrendered my feelings (which like most people can be all over the place sometimes), I was able to get the warmth peace that I've been searching for for all these years. But it came AFTER I realized it has nothing to do with me at all.

Because of Christ, this Christmas (and I hope all Christmases to come) was truly wonderful!

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Stay, stay at home, my heart, and rest;
Home-keeping hearts are happiest,
For those that wander they know not where
Are full of trouble and full of care;
To stay at home is best.

Weary and homesick and distressed,
They wander east, they wander west,
And are baffled and beaten and blown about
By the winds of the wilderness of doubt;
To stay at home is best.

Then stay at home, my heart, and rest;
The bird is safest in its nest;
O'er all that flutter their wings and fly
A hawk is hovering in the sky;
To stay at home is best.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow