It’s the time of year when so much is made to look picture-perfect, when everything is supposed to be merry, festive, and bright. And I am all for the decorations and music and food and ugly sweaters and even crazy movie plots like a Nutcracker coming to life and becoming the lead character’s sort-of-Christmas-boyfriend (thanks for that one, Lifetime)... But I’m sitting here in my dark kitchen, trying to tackle this day, and things don’t feel so jolly. For lots of various reasons, even while I remain grateful for so much, life just feels hard right now. Christmas is swooping in with all of its parties and gift-buying and jingle bells but I don’t feel ready for it. My ‘merry’ is not here. I feel sad and tired and like I’m only barely managing to keep it all together.
But there’s this little whisper, a wind, a breath that blows through and keeps this light burning bright even with all of my worn-out feelings —
Emmanuel.
Emmanuel, God with us.
Emmanuel — God is HERE, with me.
In the sadness, in the un-festive, in the falling apart — there is steady joy that doesn’t disappear even when my merry feelings are out of sight.
I don’t have a lot of cheer.
But I have hope.
My hope is Jesus meeting us here, in the hard places and in the darkness and in the pain. My hope is in a Savior who stays, who is our strength, whose presence means peace.
My hope is a God who makes all things new, promises every broken thing restored, whose love does not (will not and cannot) fail.
Love — stronger than darkness, stronger than sin, stronger than death —abides with us.
Emmanuel.
God is here.
Whether or not all the trimmings come along or not...even if nothing is picture-perfect ...even if we can’t hold it all together...Love is holding us & won’t let go. “I know You are with me and I know You go before me/I know You’ve been beside me through it all/You will never leave me, You will never leave me/I will trust the promise that You will never leave./Come mountain or valley, you’ll find me singing/come mountain or valley, it is well.” #hope #christmas #advent #valleycreekworship
I’ve been carrying this book with me for weeks now, coming back to its pages again and again. I leave its words feeling comforted and understood, inspired and challenged to look more closely at the moments of my life, made ever more aware that “There is no ordinary time”. Susan’s attention to detail, her turn of phrase, her ability to take a simple moment and infuse it with glory...it all adds up to poems that are going to stay with me for a long, long time. I am left wandering through these pages with my pen, marking beautiful thoughts that I don’t want to forget. I already knew that @thatsmesusanmulder was a talented crafter of words- but the heart and vision held within the covers of this book display more than just skill - her poetry is a gift and I am so immensely grateful that she has shared it with us. 💜 It’s on Amazon, friends - please order this wonderful book for yourself! #whatchristiereads2018 #poetry #amreading #proudfriend #noordinarytime #samulder #poetkindpodcast @poetkindpodcast
I’ve spent the first bit of autumn with these three novels. Although they are about different time periods, in different settings, and the plots are all strikingly unique...they all left me in tears, marveling at both the awful and wonderful ways human beings affect each other. The Last Ballad tells a story based on events I’d never heard before of a North Carolina woman who took a stand for racial equality in the days of the mill towns as she fought to provide for family and friends. The River King delves into the particular sorrow of living with regret when losing someone under difficult circumstances. The Invisible Bridge...this book, friends. It’s the kind of story-telling that leaves me in awe and reminds me of the power of looking through someone else’s eyes. It tells the story of a Jewish family in Hungary before and during the Second World War, which is a perspective of the war I’ve never experienced before this novel. It has the full spectrum of emotion but at its heart, it’s a story about steadfast love in all its shades — romantic, family, friendship. It’s a beautiful story and I’ll be thinking about it for a long, long time. #whatchristiereads2018 #amreading #thelastballad #wileycash #theriverking #alicehoffman #theinvisiblebridge #julieorringer #bookstagram
