Getting Ready For Christmas

Today is the first Sunday in Advent. It also is Thanksgiving Day weekend. It was a busy but fun weekend for me. Thanksgiving Day my son and his family were over and it was a very enjoyable day. Friday "Black Friday" found us sleeping in and then going to to a couple of stores and adding our dollars to make it even blacker.

We got our tree (the ugly artificial one) in the stand on Friday morning but didnt decorate it. We bought a fake wreath for the outside that I put lights on and decorated and it turned out to look quite nice. Then yesterday evening, Jim and I put the decorations on the tree. I guess no matter how ugly a tree looks, when you get all the tinsel on it and those ornaments (many that hold such warm memories) on them they look pretty good when you plug them in and the lights shine and reflect off the baubles. This is all part of getting ready for Chrstmas.

But, in church this morning, with the begining of Advent, our pastor spoke about Christmas from the point of Mary. Can you imagine, being probably between the age of 14 - 16, and having an angel come to you and tell you that you are going to become pregnant and that the Holy Spirt would impregnate you and the power of The Most High would overshadow you? Wow, I think I will have to ask my teenage grand daughters what thier reaction might be. I tried to think back to when I was 15 or 16 and I think my thoughts would have been, "But, what will my parents think, what will my church think? Will they believe me? As pastor pointed out this morning Mary "wondered" which translated means she worried. Who wouldnt? But she had faith and she told the angel, she would do as God wanted. (Oh to have faith like that). Imagine if her father, as was done in that day to women found pregnant before marriage, would have put her to death. But he didnt, she was protected and the Savior of the world was born.

Then later after Jesus was born, scripture tells us that Mary pondered these things, meaning she held close all that had happened.

I "pondered" on the message I heard this morning and tried to apply it to my life. I thought I am sure that Mary's parents thought "Oh sure Mary, the Holy Spirit impregnated you". I am sure they felt shame (even if they did belive in some part or in the whole of it). I am sure they were afriad for Mary and for themselves. Yet the angel said that the Power of the Most High would over shadow her. This power kept her safe through all of this.

I look at my life, and my family. I see the things that my children are going through and things that I have gone through. These trials and hard paths, forsure I think can only be the work of satan. And then I "ponder" about Mary, and I see that in the curcumstance that the world looking on would have called "disgraceful" "shameful" "improper" etc, came forth the Saviour of the world. So I look with new faith at the problems and trials that my children go through and believe because God's word tells us that God is for them, so WHO can be against them.

I am so thankful to God for the gift of his son. Whom he made flesh and knew all the temptations that we know, and still was without sin, BUT,, took all the sins of the world and put them on his son so that I, (me, Sandi, so unworthy of such love) might have eternal live.

Thank you God. Thank you Jesus for being willing to come.

Blessings
Sandi