Journal Entry 12/24-25 From Kristi
“And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn.” Luke 2:7
The first Christmas. Far from ideal. Her firstborn was not born at home. Not surrounded by family. She had to wrap her Baby in grave clothes and place Him in an animal’s food trough. I’m sure it was far from what this mother imagined her first delivery would be like.
As I woke this morning, I considered how Zac was waking up alone. No Christmas tree to run down to... not even the ability to run to one... no family to greet him... so far from ideal, Lord. By God’s grace, we were all able to meet up at Craig for a 45 min supervised visitation, 6 feet apart with masks on... no hugging... so far from ideal. I remained with Zac for the day while the rest of the family celebrated Christmas in our little hotel room.
Far from ideal, far from tradition, but isn’t that just what Jesus did? He did not remain in glory but left perfection in order that we might be perfected in Him. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...”. This brought me comfort to know the Lord does not work in ideals. He works in the extraordinary. He works in the different. I should not fear the less-then-ideal. Why? Because it is exactly where His glory is found.
“And we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. He works in ways far from ideal. Far from what we think is best. But it is in this space that we see His glory.
And somehow it makes this adventure worth it all. It gives us courage to say, as Mary did when she was presented the less-than-ideal situation from the angel: “Be it unto me, according to Your Word.” Luke 1:38.
Zac’s body is less than ideal. He is not afraid because He is confident that this is the place God will reveal His glory.
A sincere Merry Christmas to each of you. Thank you for traveling with us on this journey. Be excited for the less-than-ideal in your life; in fact, embrace it. Give God space to dwell within your life, then stand back and see His glory.
He is working in glorious ways we cannot even fathom. And that makes life with Him so marvelously exciting.
#zacsHope is Jesus
The 6 Abblitts
"Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely." 1 Cor 13:12
