Christmas Message

Have you ever had one of those moments, where you have seen something a million times, but you finally "got it?" It happened to me last weekend watching the story of Christmas.

The ending of two insanely busy weeks, I had an opportunity to be a part of our church Christmas musical.  Music was just the thing I needed to let me take a deep breath and get in the mood for the holiday season.  I didn't realize I also needed a fresh message from something I had heard a million times before.

Mary delivered our precious Savior in a stable, tired, surrounded by animals...yes, I've heard it before.  Spotlight shining on her alone, as part of a monologue, the beautiful young lady playing Mary said, "I did the best I could."

"I did the best I could."  The perfectionist inside cried aloud, "I did the best I could."  The most perfect thing that happened on this earth was carried out with an unwed teenage mother, in a stable far from home, who did the best she could.

God brought his son not into perfection, but into a home of love and a home of obedience.   They were doing the best they could.  That is what he asks of us.

We want to pride ourselves on our lives and boast of our success.  Other times we want to cower in defeat over circumstances that we can't change or that live in our past.

God is not looking for perfection, he's looking for a willingness to serve and a humbleness that can take on the imperfections and turn them for his Glory.  Who among us is not able to do that.

Father, thank you for sending your son into this world to save us and to set an example of how we can live our lives for your glory.  Remind us this Christmas, as the presents are passed and the days are filled with activity, to focus on the reason we celebrate.  Thank you loving us enough to not only forgive our imperfections, but to embrace them and use them for your glory.