Christmas Eve Reflection from Kim

As I was feeding my newborn the other day, I was looking into his face as he was sleeping.  How beautiful, peaceful and innocent he is.  Unaware of the crazy, dangerous and uncertain world around us.  He is reliant on us for everything he needs right now.  I also thought about what it must have felt like for Mary when she would gaze into the face of Jesus.  I’m guessing she didn’t think too differently from myself when I look at Ephraim.  I imagine what he will sound like when he speaks, what his personality will be like, what he will be when he grows up,etc.  In Luke, we read:

“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

I imagine she was trying to put this whirlwind of thoughts together and allow her mind and heart and emotions to catch up to each other.  But as most mothers do, she probably wanted to treasure this experience, to burn every inch of it into her brain so she wouldn’t forget.  The smells, the sights, the sounds, all of it.  She knew that this was a holy and sacred occurrence.

Is it different for us today, even this very day?  Jesus was born into a world much similar to ours in many ways.  Our world is complex and dangerous and uncertain.  When I think of my children growing up in it, I could get overwhelmed with fear because it is so uncertain.  Mary probably had similar thoughts and fears and anxieties.  We never know what will happen in the future.  How was Mary to know that her sweet baby would eventually die on a cross, for her, her husband and the rest of the world?

As we ponder many things this Christmas Eve, I ask you to reflect number one on Jesus, on the story of His birth, its significance to you and your life and how your life has or could change from Jesus coming to save the world.  Remember that God is the Prince of Peace and that no matter what you face, what our world faces, that He is the guide to the path of Peace.  Number 2, I ask that you think about other children, specifically children that could be thousands of miles away from you here in Ecuador.  Imagine with me for a moment a small child that shivers in the cold, laying on the dirt floor of their shack with brothers and sisters because there is no other place for them to sleep.  It doesn’t seem that far off from Jesus in a manger, huh?  That is reality for some kids in the area where we serve in Ecuador.  We don’t want that for them and we know that Jesus calls us to …look after orphans and widows in their distress…

This Christmas season we pray for God’s peace in your life.  We pray for God’s hope in the lives of children in Ecuador and we pray that we can partner together to help at-risk kids to know a savior, THE Savior of the world.