Writer: Beth Jones
Writer’s Ministry: Choir member
Text: Isaiah 1:16-18
Looking back on my life, I can see many times when Jesus intersected my life. Thirty-four years ago, my husband and I were especially impacted by His love and blessings during the Christmas season.
After several years of marriage and graduate school with my husband, I had planned and was excited to have our first child. We really wanted children, and I was happy to share this joyous news with our families. But soon afterward, I was devastated and heartbroken when I experienced an early miscarriage. Suddenly, I wouldn’t be a mother, my mother wouldn’t be a grandmother, and my grandmother wouldn’t be a great-grandmother. On top of that, I didn’t know if I would ever get pregnant again! I realized that I was not in control; I had to depend on and trust in God. This was hard because I’m a planner, but matters of life and death are in the hands of God. I just needed to trust God and pray.
A little over a year later, by God’s grace, I was nearing the end of my second pregnancy. God had given me a perfect year of doctor visits, baby showers, and time to plan for our new arrival. (I didn’t know in advance if I was having a boy or a girl.) The baby’s due date was close to Christmas and we were excited for the first grandchild in our extended family. Having a baby at the time of year when people are talking and singing about “peace on earth” and a baby born in Bethlehem was so comforting. I could relate to Mary having her first-born son in a special way.
We attended our church’s Christmas Eve service to celebrate Jesus’ birth. It was during that service that I went into labor. I remember looking up and saying to God, “You have to be kidding me!!”
Our first-born son was born at noon on Christmas day in 1988. Jesus intersected our lives that day and gave us the gift we had been praying for! My family came to visit us in the hospital right after church (Yes, Christmas was on a Sunday that year, just like it is this year!). What a joyful time for our family! Our newborn son was our most incredible Christmas gift that year!!!
Daily Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father. Thank you for all the gifts you give us every day and especially at Christmas. May we daily hand over our lives to you so that you can be the one in control. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Discussion/Reflection questions:
1. Have you ever had to wait on Jesus because something didn’t go how you had planned?
2. Have you ever felt your life was out of your control, but when you allowed Him, Jesus stepped in to make things right?
3. What was your best Christmas gift ever?
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