When I share my testimony with people, I usually begin by stating that I accepted Christ when I was 12 years old, but I didn’t start acting like it until I was 27. To say that I was hot mess as a teenager would be the understatement of the century. I was grounded more than I was free. I snuck out, stole money from my dad while he was sleeping, started drinking and smoking before I even graced the doors of my high school campus. I bounced more checks in my late teens and early twenties than I should admit on a public platform. My poor parents didn’t know what to do with me. I know they prayed for me. I know they tried to talk sense into me. I know they reached out to counselors, youth pastors, and friends for advice and support. I know, now, that they must have lost a lot of sleep worrying about me and spent a lot of money cleaning up the trail of heartbreak and disaster that l left in my self-centered adolescent wake.

My sweet daddy spent his first Christmas with Jesus this year. He passed away this October. I’m still devastated by his absence because he was my biggest fan. I look back on my childhood and my life as an adult and can’t recall a single moment in my entire life that I doubted his love for me. After his death, hundreds of people poured out their love for my dad in letters, posts, text messages, and conversations reminiscing about the love they felt from Dad and about how he made them feel special and accepted just for who they were. I’ve come to realize since losing Daddy that God gave me this earthly father as an amazing example of what unconditional love looks like. Apparently, no matter how wretched I was as a teenager, there was nothing I could do to make my daddy not love me and forgive me or want me to be reconciled unto himself. Were there consequences of my actions and choices? Absolutely. There are many struggles that I face even today as a 46-year-old that are direct results of my sinful past–burdens that I might bare until the day I meet Jesus myself; however, knowing that I was loved and forgiven by my earthly father is not one of them. For that I am forever grateful.

In Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth, he assured them of their Heavenly Father’s love for them and His desire to reconcile them unto Himself. Paul tells them in chapter 5, “15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”

So, what is this “message of reconciliation” about which Paul speaks? As you begin this new year, know in the deepest depths of your heart that there is nothing old in your past that God will not leave behind in His endless ocean of forgiveness. There is nothing you could have ever done that will make Him not love you today. As the old passes away in the new year, seek and rest in the One who is the source of that kind of love and who only desires to love and be loved by you no matter what–our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Bare feet on wooden stairs. Red nylon nightgowns that matched. Two sisters clattered down the stairs on a cool Christmas morning, running into a room that had seemed bare when they went to bed, but now resembled Santa’s workshop in all its glory. There were stockings, my favorite, and babydolls from Santa. Presents were wrapped under the tree, their endless possibilities almost dancing in the air before us. We felt like very lucky girls, indeed.

Against each wall stood a handcrafted desk with an attached shelf. We had run past them to get to the Christmas tree. They were beautifully made, polished to a high shine, gleaming in the reflection of the Christmas lights.

Neither girl mentioned the desks. Instead, they ran straight to the stockings. Inside were staples, erasers, paper clips, and all the things one would need to stock a desk. Still, no one mentioned the desks in the room.

One sister had asked for a desk of her own and had wanted it so much. She didn’t see the desk before her because of the lights and sounds of the season that competed with the presence of the desk.

The other sister saw the desks, but thought they were much too grand and special for the likes of her. Surely, they were for her parents. It didn’t seem like she was worthy of such a gift. It must be there for someone else.

Eventually, their mom told them of the gifts that were right in front of them. Of how their dad had made them for his two girls. How they were thought of especially as he made them.

The gift of the father seemed enormous. Shyly the girls eyed the desks then ran to them. They began stocking the drawers with paper clips and staplers and felt very grown up, and excited, and loved.

This Christmas, you might be like these two sisters. Like the second sister you may see a baby in a manger and think he is far too grand a gift for the likes of you. You might think you don’t deserve a gift so special, but your father in Heaven thought about you when he sent Jesus to be born as a baby.

Or, you may be like the first sister and simply not see the manger in light of all the hustle and bustle, and excitement of the season.

Don’t miss the splendor of the season by not noticing the gift in front of you. Jesus was born humbly in a stable, he lived a perfect life, and he died a violent death on a cross so that all who ask him to be Lord of their lives might be saved. Don’t think the gift is too grand or too special for you to accept. Just see the gift of Jesus and take it.

The other day the baby sister said to me, “Well, if you weren’t walking in cursive.” Cause if you know me then you know when I walk I’m all over the place. 🤣

It got me thinking about this journey we call life. One would assume it would be a straight shot – like normal people walking down a sidewalk. Side eye at myself and my cursive walking.

But it’s not.

It’s not a straight shot, and it doesn’t make any kind of sense. It’s not going to.

Let’s take it back to the Israelites in Exodus. God took them on a journey that was all twisty and turny and every which way. They didn’t understand it. How could they? They couldn’t see the big picture like He could.

What looked like a scribbled up Dora the Explorer map to some was actually a very well planned out excursion.

The pretty, perfect path would have had them ol’ Israelites end up right smack dab in the middle of a war – war they were not prepared to fight.

So God had them walk in cursive. They went this way and then they went that way – and unbeknownst to them they were strategically protected from the waging war that they would have happened upon if they would have taken the so-called pretty, perfect path.

Y’all, God may have you on a journey right now that you just don’t quite understand. And I can almost bet that you would like to play MapQuest for Him.

Don’t do it.

You can’t see the big picture.

You can’t see what’s in front of you.

You can’t see what’s surrounding you.

But God can.

Trust the journey He has placed before you.

And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. Exodus 13:21

Our pastor, Travis Hood, did a sermon on John 8:12 two weeks ago and I felt it was perfect to share with y’all this Christmas season.

I think it’s safe to say that everyone knows we live in a dark world and Christmas time is usually a distraction in the chaos. With all the decorations, lights, family and friend gatherings it’s easy to stay busy and forget about the darkness. But God has given us more than a distraction. He has given us hope that comes from the one who came to us in the darkness to save us.

John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

We are born in a dark world, we stumble through life trying to find our way, bumping into things that are in our way that cause pain and suffering. We search in the darkness to satisfy ourselves and to find fulfillment. We pursue popularity, money, success. We abuse alcohol and drugs to escape the emptiness we feel in our life. We look to relationships to satisfy and comfort us. All of those things ultimately fail us. They only leads us deeper into the darkness.

The only way to overcome darkness is for a light to shine. The good news that Christmas brings is that Jesus Christ was born to bring light to the world. He says, “I am the light…” God didn’t leave us in the dark. He sent Jesus to bring light back into the world and overcome darkness.

Friend, you don’t have to stay in the dark, Jesus said, “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light.” Through Christmas God offers us a light that is much more than just a distraction, God offers us a way out. That’s why we celebrate Christmas. Jesus is the light of the world.

God speaks to me.

He does.

Not in a loud booming voice. It’s actually quite gentle. I remember the first time I heard Him. I was in second grade, and God told me {clear as day} that I would be an educator. We all see how that turned out.

I digress.

The other day I turned the corner from the hallway to the kitchen and He spoke clear as clear can be to this ol’ gal. You see I’d been making excuses. Excuses about why I couldn’t do some things. Important things. Excuses about not having enough time.

And He said – I can take some stuff away from you so you’ll “have” enough time.

That sucked the air right out of my lungs.

Because to be honest, I have plenty of time. I’m just not using it as wisely as I could be. I don’t want anything taken away from me! God has blessed me beyond measure.

I felt strongly that I needed to share this with y’all. Let’s all be good stewards of the time and things God has so graciously given us.

After all, it’s not ours. It’s His.

It’s all His.

15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16