This week my fabulous friend Kristen Strong and I are doing a little series called All Things Possible Christmas. She’s here today to kick things off and tell you more…
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I sigh as I hang up the phone, plumb worn out from the stress of a difficult conversation. I lean against the see through glass and focus my attention on my neighbor’s large bay window, a picture frame for their triangle Christmas tree. The tree’s white lights illuminate like stars, and I wish I could shine the same way. But the guilt I carry from disappointing others weighs heavy.
I love Christmas and the generous joy it sprinkles over everything, but even a sanguine like me can’t deny this truth: While the Christmas season sings a rhapsody of abundant goodness, the dissonant chords of life’s troubles play out twice as pitchy during the holidays.
I listen and hear comfort from heaven,
“All the more reason to cling to glorious Hope.”
I smile weakly as I recall a favorite Christmas poem:
The Christmas Spirit
The Christmas spirit is that hope
which tenaciously clings to the hearts of the faithful
and announces in the face of any Herod
the world can produce
and all the inn doors slammed in our faces
and all the dark nights of our souls
that with God
all things are possible,
that even now
unto us
a Child is born!
~Ann Weems
The angel first spoke these words to Mary and I feel its message lift my heavy heart: Nothing is impossible with God. No problem outruns His reach. No difficulty outdoes His sovereignty. He brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem at a time when every hotel sign read “no vacancy” and gave them rest in the most un-luxury of accommodations. What a humble place for Hope’s first breath! But then again, the Lord often births the biggest blessings from the bleakest environments.
I wonder if your face has recently felt the hot, stiff breeze from a slammed inn door? During this Christmas season, does the burden of what you carry feel twice as heavy? If so, we want to bring words that speak hope in the midst of slammed doors and joy in spite of all our impossibles. There’s no better season for opening our hands to God-possiblities and allowing Jesus into the furthest corners of our hearts.
Let every heart prepare Him room.
— Kristen
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This week, Kristen and I will alternate posts for the All Things Possible Christmas. Kristen will post tomorrow at here place and then we will be back here on Wednesday. Stay tuned towards the end of the week when we’ll bring a dab o’ Christmas joy in giveaway form!
What are the words your heart most needs to hear this Christmas?
