SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL
They shall call him Emmanuel…God with us. Matthew 1:23
Pain is not fun. It hurts! Yet it can bring about something beautiful if handled well. Do you know how a pearl is formed. A tiny splinter like substance enters an oyster & irritates it. It’s response to this irritation over time begins to turn this pain in its side into a pearl. That would be awesome if all our pains turned into pearls. Maybe, we just don’t see it yet because it’s still in the process of being a pain. What then is a good response to these trials? Recognizing that we are not in control for starters. We cannot control external circumstances, other people, what they do or what they think. Nor should we want to because then I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t allow them to cause us any pain. But we can control how we choose to respond to them & trust what God is doing in the process. It begins with a right attitude. Admit that because of the sin nature, we too are powerless to control the tendency to do the wrong thing & that life, or areas of it are unmanageable. That is the first principal in Celebrate Recovery. A program that teaches how to heal from past hurts and hang-ups based on Matthew 5:3. Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor. The struggle is real because deep down we all have hurts inside and inner sadness that longs for healing. Realizing that there is nothing you can do to get rid of it on your own and get right with God is the first step in the healing process. Let us examine our ways and test them and let us return to the Lord. Lamentations 3:40
Christmas can be a tough season for many reasons. But, if we are able to humble ourselves before our Maker and surrender the worries, hurts and pains of our hearts He will hear. If we stop amidst the hustle and draw near to Him, He will receive us because that is what Christmas is all about. Reaching out to the One who bridged the gap between heaven and earth both in & through the birth of a Savior. See our need for a relationship with our Creator by looking at Jesus in the manger as God’s gift of peace and reconciliation to Himself in the flesh & blood of His Son Jesus. That is the gift of God to all people. Not presents under a tree but the gift of being able to be in the presence of our Lord through the sacrifice of Jesus. All that this world has to offer is fleeting but the gift of God is everlasting. Take the time to receive the most precious gift this Christmas and allow the Spirit of God to begin to turn those trials into treasures. From the time of the Immaculate conception till the birth of Jesus, it wasn’t easy for Mary and Joseph but the end result was well worth it. A new born King <3 MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Laura Lawrence
Discovery Time Director