Christmas ponderings...

CHRISTmas is really all about Christ!

So, here I sit on the DART making my way into Dublin Connolly train station to get the next train up to Belfast to spend the holidays with the Porter Family. Snow is on the ground, which seems highly unlike Ireland but alas it still is the Green Isle! No one is in the car I am traveling in, which seems a little odd but it made me think, where is everyone? All week long I have been praying that God would show me the meaning of way I felt called to stay in Ireland this year for Christmas.

Nothing was coming to mind because I miss my family. Sure there are things I miss about the states but nothing as important as my family. My family means a lot to me and I love spending holidays with them; as I was praying God has given me a peace about staying and being away from my family. Don’t get me wrong; I am mere seconds away from crying my eyes out at times but at peace nonetheless. God is good and shall show me in His timing what His WILL is for me this season.

Watching out the DART window, I see loads of empty stations pass by in the blink of an eye, people all home with families, people out shopping for last minute gifts, people wondering expectantly what will be under the tree in the morning, children asking parents when Santa is coming, delicious food sitting ready on the dinner table, snow falling softly on the ground outside, the Christmas spirit is all a buzz and I wonder if anyone is thinking what I am thinking, “I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams.”

Now Josh Groban sings a great rendition of this song and it has nearly made me cry on several occasions. “I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams.” My dreams are of all the things mentioned above but also on something more as well, my thoughts dwell on my Savior who came as a small baby into a lonely world to be the light in the dark. Many years ago Christ came into the world as a humble child born in a manger because the world was too busy to make room. Of course we have heard preacher after preacher discuss the baby in a manger before but this Christmas I stopped to think about what Christmas truly means to me.

I wasn’t making room for Christ in Christmas. Now listen to me before you start judging or thinking I have gone off the deep end and given up on the Christian walk. That is the furthest thing from the truth, I believe that God is trying to bring me closer to himself through this holiday by making me realize what I had/have been filling life with. My focus need more focus! (Name that movie reference. J)

Is there room for Christ in Christmas? Just after Thanksgiving people’s lives seem to increase in busyness at a rapid speed and then all of a sudden it is the New Year with a whole new host of things to busy us with. During the holiday season there are presents to buy, people to visit, parties to attend, meals to prepare, travel to and from family’s home, and then your average daily living. I know at times I run around so busy trying to find the right gift, the very perfect present that will be given to those closest to me that I forget to even focus on the reason for Christmas. Christ gets crowed out by wrapping paper, trees, decorations, food, money, cards, parties and whatever else I find to fill the time with.

No wonder I have been feeling lonely and lost for the last couple of weeks, I was giving Christmas to consumerism and not Christ. Even being in Ireland has busied my life that I allowed my focus to go astray. I do not find fault with any of these things as long as there is balance, which can be reached. Some of my favorite memories are the times I have spent in church on Christmas Eve with a candle light service or the year that my family took communion together at midnight or the time where we got together as a church for a time of prayer. I can recall several church services that have made an impact on my life but only a handful of gifts that made a lasting impression. (Thank you to all of those who have given me gifts over the years, I honestly am thankful for you and your gifts to me! May you all be richly blessed this season.)

By reflecting on the meaning of Christmas, I begin to better understand what my purpose is not only in Ireland or at NTS or in the states or traveling the world but also by merely living to be a follower of Christ. God has simply asked me to place HIM at the forefront of my mind, now and eternally. Through daily living for him and trying to focus my eyes on His will for my life, then I am fulfilling my explicit purpose. “God into all the world…” (Luke 16:15), “follow me…” (The Bible), “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead” (Matthew 8:22), “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Matthew 9:37-38), and more verses on the following of Jesus Christ upon our lives.

Honestly these are just ramblings I have had while traveling up to Northern Ireland for the holidays. So, far I have experienced the love and join of being with God’s greater family. A family I am close to in Greystones, Ireland invited me over to their home for a night and a breakfast meal, not only did they feed me and allow me to bunk in their home but they also showed me love. The Williams and the Stephens are a wonderful family who make me feel welcomed every Sunday but have also showed me Christ this holiday through their love. Jeff, Wanda, Mark, and Luke open their home on multiple occasions for me to dine with them and simply hang out. You are all shining examples of Christ this year to me and during the holidays (Yes, even you Luke! J) The Greystones Youth Group and the meal we shared on Sunday, December 19^th, were special and a time to laugh/love/eat and be merry together. You all have showed me Christ a little more this holiday. Peacehaven thank you for inviting me to holiday dinner, you are so wonderful and hold a special place in my heart. Each time I am with you I further glimpse the joy and love in which God sent His son as a baby in a manger. Greystones Church of the Nazarene, thank you for your willingness to take in a couple of Americans for the year. The love that you as a congregation show me is incredible and I count myself blessed this year to be with you all.

To anyone else that I may have missed, I pray that you all have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS, may you be safe, happy, warm, loved, full, and content with the holiday to mark the coming of our Savior! Remember to place Christ in Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of those people who hold a special place in my heart! Mommy, Daddy, and Racho, I love you all very much! I’ll be missing you this Christmas but know you have a special place in my heart and shall be with me, no matter where I go! Tell Papa, Grandma, Aunt Mary Lynn, Uncle John, Kelsie, Tyler, Shirley and Virgil, Debbie and Rich, Ron and Marci, Wade and Becky, Kenny and Barb, Uncle Jim (give him a huge hug for me), Berta and Richard, Tara, Grant, and the rest of the family that I am wishing them all a very Merry Christmas from a cold and snowy Ireland! Remember my family, “I’ll be home for Christmas…if only in my heart.” You are ALL a part of my heart!