An Aerial View
today I spent my Christmas with two different families.
First, I spent the day with my blood family. My aunt and uncle, my other aunt, my grandparents, my cousins, all their husbands, and all their kids. It was fabulous. It was so normal and homie, and it just felt so "traditiony". I loved it. even down to me getting annoyed with the puzzle that Marianne, Angelie, Jaime and I always try to finish and walking away (and then joining again, going for a while, getting annoyed, and walking away again, repeated like a THOUSAND times).
It was great.
Then, I spent the evening with the closest thing I could ever have to family without it being family. We went to the Harrington's. It never ceases to amaze me how incredible close we have grown. Even if we go forever without hanging out, or even talking all that much, we always laugh until we cry and make up insane things and... I don't even know. Nat and Cali? are honestly like having extra siblings. I love them to death. I can't even handle them haha. I don't know what I would ever dream of doing without them. Ben wasn't there tonight. sad sauce. If you think of it, whether you know him or not, could you pray for him? Just pray for Benji. :)
I love that guy.
speaking of guys:
(this is not like me at all, so enjoy it while you can)
Happy 1 month to my main man! you's fantastic, and I can't wait to see what God's got in store for us!
Anyway, here is something that I really really really want all of you to hear. It kind of hit me either last night or this morning.. I'm not sure. whatever... here goes:
once upon a time, approximately a little more than 2000 years ago, a girl about my age (except younger, because holy frick, I'm 18 now) was confronted by an angel. That angel told her that by the power of the holy spirit (seeing as she was a virgin), she would give birth to the Son of God. AMAZING! Then, (this is where I really got hit today) She went to Bethlehem with her main man Joseph, and she gave birth in the presence of a bunch of farm animals and lay the Lord in a manger.
Meanwhile.... (Oh dang, here comes)
Shepherds were watching over their flocks in some fields nearby. It was night and they were probably really cold and tired and annoyed. They were probably feeling the effects of living the same tedious life day after day after day with no conceivable ray of hope, nothing to grasp on to for the future. Really, the whole world was probably feeling this way. They were living in a dark world with scary leaders (Herod was a not-so-hot mess. or maybe he was hot. I don't know. anyway he was a mess), living lives where they did the same thing every day, "content" or maybe bored with life.
Anyway, it was a pretty average night. everything was about as normal as it could be... until
BOOOOOOM - ANGELS!
filling the sky around the shepherds, telling them about the birth of Jesus, and then singing songs I can only imagine were unfathomably incredible. From here, the shepherds drop what they are doing and run to Bethlehem to meet the newborn Savior of the world. Then they ran through the little town telling everyone they could find about what they just saw.
Now, everyone kind of likes to think about this from the perspective of Mary or Joseph, or the Shepherds, or even the Innkeeper (that's what my pastor talked about last night) but what I would love, is to watch it happen from the perspective of the angels. The angels singing their hearts out to God.
Picture this:
You're looking down on the world, this average, lonely, dark world. These shepherds are tired and ready for a change. Then, they hear this news, and it's like a spark. You can see from where you are in the sky the light that has just entered their hearts, and then as they run through the town telling everyone of the things that they saw, the world slowly begins to light up. This light that hasn't been seen in.. forever.... this light that everyone has been afraid to feel for a long time: Hope. As an angel in the sky, you see this hope begin to consume everyone and everything, and it lights the world.
I can just imagine being an angel, not knowing God's plan for the world and just waiting for a long time to see what He's going to do and thinking, wow, the world is such a sad place... and then this happens, and it finally starts to make sense. The world, with the birth of this one baby, truly comes alive. This baby, would grow to become the Savior of the world. He would die for us. every. single. one of us. Because He loves us. He looks past everything that we do to mess up, everything that makes us not worth saving, and saves us anyway, because He wants to be with us. He LOVES us. so so so so so much.
I also was thinking about how this story is the story of the first missionaries. Of course other people most likely had shared about God, but not like this I don't think... In Matthew 28, Jesus commands that we share the Good news that is HIM with all people, everyone we can find, so that everyone may come to Him and be saved. He commands that we love him shamelessly and relentlessly.
The shepherds did that. Jesus was only a baby, yet they loved Him and clung to Him so shamelessly and relentlessly that they couldn't help but run and tell the whole world about who this Jesus is.
It's amazing.
I long for shamelessness and relentlessness.
So, I'm done now. But I hope you all take to heart what Christmas is all about, and I hope you take away something new this year that you never knew before.
Merry Christmas, Loves!
First, I spent the day with my blood family. My aunt and uncle, my other aunt, my grandparents, my cousins, all their husbands, and all their kids. It was fabulous. It was so normal and homie, and it just felt so "traditiony". I loved it. even down to me getting annoyed with the puzzle that Marianne, Angelie, Jaime and I always try to finish and walking away (and then joining again, going for a while, getting annoyed, and walking away again, repeated like a THOUSAND times).
It was great.
Then, I spent the evening with the closest thing I could ever have to family without it being family. We went to the Harrington's. It never ceases to amaze me how incredible close we have grown. Even if we go forever without hanging out, or even talking all that much, we always laugh until we cry and make up insane things and... I don't even know. Nat and Cali? are honestly like having extra siblings. I love them to death. I can't even handle them haha. I don't know what I would ever dream of doing without them. Ben wasn't there tonight. sad sauce. If you think of it, whether you know him or not, could you pray for him? Just pray for Benji. :)
I love that guy.
speaking of guys:
(this is not like me at all, so enjoy it while you can)
Happy 1 month to my main man! you's fantastic, and I can't wait to see what God's got in store for us!
Anyway, here is something that I really really really want all of you to hear. It kind of hit me either last night or this morning.. I'm not sure. whatever... here goes:
once upon a time, approximately a little more than 2000 years ago, a girl about my age (except younger, because holy frick, I'm 18 now) was confronted by an angel. That angel told her that by the power of the holy spirit (seeing as she was a virgin), she would give birth to the Son of God. AMAZING! Then, (this is where I really got hit today) She went to Bethlehem with her main man Joseph, and she gave birth in the presence of a bunch of farm animals and lay the Lord in a manger.
Meanwhile.... (Oh dang, here comes)
Shepherds were watching over their flocks in some fields nearby. It was night and they were probably really cold and tired and annoyed. They were probably feeling the effects of living the same tedious life day after day after day with no conceivable ray of hope, nothing to grasp on to for the future. Really, the whole world was probably feeling this way. They were living in a dark world with scary leaders (Herod was a not-so-hot mess. or maybe he was hot. I don't know. anyway he was a mess), living lives where they did the same thing every day, "content" or maybe bored with life.
Anyway, it was a pretty average night. everything was about as normal as it could be... until
BOOOOOOM - ANGELS!
filling the sky around the shepherds, telling them about the birth of Jesus, and then singing songs I can only imagine were unfathomably incredible. From here, the shepherds drop what they are doing and run to Bethlehem to meet the newborn Savior of the world. Then they ran through the little town telling everyone they could find about what they just saw.
Now, everyone kind of likes to think about this from the perspective of Mary or Joseph, or the Shepherds, or even the Innkeeper (that's what my pastor talked about last night) but what I would love, is to watch it happen from the perspective of the angels. The angels singing their hearts out to God.
Picture this:
You're looking down on the world, this average, lonely, dark world. These shepherds are tired and ready for a change. Then, they hear this news, and it's like a spark. You can see from where you are in the sky the light that has just entered their hearts, and then as they run through the town telling everyone of the things that they saw, the world slowly begins to light up. This light that hasn't been seen in.. forever.... this light that everyone has been afraid to feel for a long time: Hope. As an angel in the sky, you see this hope begin to consume everyone and everything, and it lights the world.
I can just imagine being an angel, not knowing God's plan for the world and just waiting for a long time to see what He's going to do and thinking, wow, the world is such a sad place... and then this happens, and it finally starts to make sense. The world, with the birth of this one baby, truly comes alive. This baby, would grow to become the Savior of the world. He would die for us. every. single. one of us. Because He loves us. He looks past everything that we do to mess up, everything that makes us not worth saving, and saves us anyway, because He wants to be with us. He LOVES us. so so so so so much.
I also was thinking about how this story is the story of the first missionaries. Of course other people most likely had shared about God, but not like this I don't think... In Matthew 28, Jesus commands that we share the Good news that is HIM with all people, everyone we can find, so that everyone may come to Him and be saved. He commands that we love him shamelessly and relentlessly.
The shepherds did that. Jesus was only a baby, yet they loved Him and clung to Him so shamelessly and relentlessly that they couldn't help but run and tell the whole world about who this Jesus is.
It's amazing.
I long for shamelessness and relentlessness.
So, I'm done now. But I hope you all take to heart what Christmas is all about, and I hope you take away something new this year that you never knew before.
Merry Christmas, Loves!
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