I wonder--December 11

Getting ready for Christmas as the Body of Christ can wear you down. . .  Now I know that is not news to anyone. It seems the closer to Christmas we come, the less peaceful we feel as people. But I wonder if that is not necessary a bad thing? 

In my morning devotional I read the following words: 

"True peace comes when we see things clearly, see the whole story, not just the good parts. Jesus' birth did not deny the human experience but embraced it." 

As you know I think a lot about the role story-telling and story-sharing plays in our lives as the church. In my mind an authentic story is a wonderful tool (perhaps the best tool) for sharing God's presence and love with our community. A well-told story is just the narration of a particular slice of life--good and bad. 

A well-told story holds the tension of life in place for the moment. 

Things don't always work out the way that we plan. The prayers are not answered. But that does not mean that God is not listening to us or that God does not value our relationship. It just means the story did not turn out the way that we wanted. . . Yet we cannot forget that God is in the story the whole time. 

As the above quotation says, 'true peace' comes as we see things authentically and fully. The good and the bad. 

Perhaps right now you can think of someone who is seeing their story only through negative eyes or a negative lens. Do not deny their experience. . . Instead come alongside of them and join them in wondering, in looking at, the whole story. Perhaps God is closer than any of us imagine? 

Blessings

Derek