Oh sweet one, it’s finally here. He is finally here. We may have trudged through this holiday season, limping emotionally, dragging baggage and pain and fear and unknowns.
We may have put up the tree, we may have written the family letter, we may have bought everyone and their uncle presents.
Or, we maybe have not. Maybe we did Christmas differently this year. Either out of necessity because of a personal crisis came roaring into our lives or maybe out of weariness because we just couldn’t add another thing to our plates or to our mental load. Or perhaps out of choice, because we realized that moving a bit more slowly and not taking all those extra tasks on was what our hearts needed this holiday.
But we are here.
This is the day when we sit with the realization that God came for us.
Came to be with us.
Came to win our hearts.
Came to show us that we matter, that we each individually matter to Him.
Came to prove that he knows who we are, he knows our names.
Came to crash through our pain and fear.
Came to bend down even closer to us in our broken-heartedness.
Came to reveal his perfect and complete love for each one of us.
He came for us.
He came for you.
In your anger.
He came for you.
In your sin.
He came for you.
In your disappointment.
He came for you.
In your fear.
He came for you.
In your pain.
He came for you.
To bring you healing.
To make you well.
To make you whole.
To comfort you.
To set you free.
To be with you.
Emmanuel, God with us. He is here. In the midst. He has arrived.
…when all is said and done, the last word is Immanuel—God–With–Us. –Isaiah 8:9–
God, I am so very glad you came. Thank you for coming for me, to be with me, to walk me through my pain, to heal me. I need you. I receive you. I love you. Amen.
P.S. You are invited to kick off this year with my e-course, Fresh Starts!
In this course, we’re going to:
take a look back
honestly assess our current reality
peer into our future year
set ourselves up for a more whole year with some thoughts & tips on self-care
and (if you’re up for it) we’re going to create our own manifesto
Here’s what you’ll get:
We will walk through four readings and four journaling exercises, sent via email every Tuesday & Saturday for two weeks.
We will each create a manifesto to propel us through the new year.
You can register for Fresh Starts HERE.