Welcome Home
It was dark. A night preceded with disappointment.
It had been a long and exhaustive journey.
A difficult passage from home to here,
A place no mother would self-select to be.
A young woman, ready to deliver her firstborn
Climbed on a dusty donkey, wallowing in her discomfort,
Led by her betrothed across a barren and broken pathway to Bethlehem.
The sun set behind the desert sands
As they entered the small city gates,
Arriving at silent isolation.
The doors were closed. The welcome mats were pulled.
There was no room, no place, no favors, no grace.
The couple, alone. Troubled, trapped, dulled, disillusioned.
They were fully surrounded but completely unseen.
A stable, a frail attempt at a suite.
It was, at best, a corner away from reality.
Together, they crouched in the muggy hay as her pains moved into contractions.
And in this dark, she screamed, she suffered, she sacrificed.
And he held and soothed and comforted and prayed.
Then Light came. That moment where the first cries are heard.
The first breath is taken.
The first human fingers to grab at new human flesh.
Miracle. Every time.
At this moment, the covenant began to unfurl.
Here was the child, the Son of God, the one to fulfill
The Prophesy, the Promise, the Purpose.
In the dark. In the isolation. In the filthy animal trough.
Into this world, He came.
His condescension to the here, far from home.
How foreign it must have felt to be fully God in that helpless moment of birth.
To need for the first time.
To be unclean and cold.
To feel the burden of fear.
To rely on a human for basic needs.
Surrounded by dust, held by common arms.
A Savior born in a corner; perfection birthed into brokenness.
In this last year, we have found ourselves in corners.
Wrapped up in murky messes.
We have walked through the dark
And this Christmas season has been preceded by disappointments
Doors have been closed, dreams have been shuttered, and days have been long.
We have felt alone. Troubled, trapped, dulled, disillusioned.
Fully surrounded, but completely unseen.
And in this dark, we’ve screamed, suffered, and sacrificed.
But the Light has come.
And He has held and soothed and comforted and delivered.
The Light of the world that came into Bethlehem brokenness
Is still present and promises to show His faithfulness.
In Him, we are home. In Him, we are redeemed.
In Him, our dust is refined and our messes are reclaimed.
The Light of Christmas was delivered in a stable
But it radiates throughout eternity in all glory,
For the Light of the Christmas story
Is the Savior birthed to die on a tree
For the redemption of broken you and broken me.
Whatever your corner may hold, the Savior invites you to find a home.
Home for the aching soul and burning heart.
Home for the lost, limp, and lacking.
Home for the poor and rich alike.
Home for the grieving, angry, hurting.
Home for the seeker, home for the believer.
Home for the common arms that welcome the Savior.
The Light of the World wants to penetrate your darkness, your bitterness, your grudges, your disappointment, and your sorrow. He wants to shine His radiance in and through you in profound and beautiful ways.
His first Christmas wasn’t easy and maybe your Christmas is never easy and hardly joyful. This year though, you can choose HOME. You may still feel sorrow and you may still sit in disappointment, but you will find peace for your aching soul in the intimacy of Christ. He will sit with you, He will wipe your tears, He will hold your head against Himself, and He will whisper reminders of a love that died for you so that you may experience life in Him.
HOME is in Him alone. It still may be dusty and barren since we live in the complexities of “both/and” where it is the human experience to simultaneously partake in both the good and hard. Yet in those “both/and” moments, we find hope in the HOME of the Savior.
This Christmas, may you remember the struggle of that first celebration. From the common perspective, nothing happened according to plan. Mary and Joseph sacrificed much and suffered more than we can wrap our heads around. Yet, that perfect child came into the world to dwell among us. He came in humility, which was God’s divine plan all along. Instead of fixating on the hard or unplanned things we face this Christmas, let’s devote our hearts and minds to remembering His humble entrance, His ministry effectiveness, and His eternal existence.
It is an enormity that we receive with common arms. He is HOME, a light shining for you, in you, and through you. Welcome home this Christmas.
Merry Christmas friends. You are a gift to me.
Your support and prayers have been profoundly necessary and a beautiful blessing.
Until 2022 friend!
