I Choose Love
The Christmas season has somber moments now that I’ve reached
the “Afternoon of Life”. I’ve said
good-bye temporarily to people that were part of my Christmas for over fifty
years. Now they celebrate the season in
the Presence of the One Who made letting them go less painful…but not without
pain. There’s that moment when I hear
Dad’s laughter in my sons’ voices…when I see Mom’s beauty in my daughter’s
eyes. There’s the wish that my
grandchildren could have known the extraordinary love and wisdom my parents
imparted while here on earth. I know
that they see Dan and me in the same way my children saw Dad and Mom…and I know
that I just never feel like I measure up to her. It’s not for not trying, though.
I sat for a few minutes on my porch swing tonight as the
temperature seemed to plunge with the sun. I watched the “evening star”, Venus, shining
spectacularly over the mountaintop across town and wondered if my fascination
with that star compares at all with the purpose of the wise men from the east
that followed the star to Bethlehem.
And for a few minutes, I felt it…that “peace that passes
understanding”. In a world that appears
to have gone berserk with anger…with filth…with hate…with lies…with
misunderstanding…with fear…I felt peace.
That same star that guided the wise men to the One angels proclaimed
would bring “Peace on earth, goodwill to men” became the focus of my
heart. And I was overcome with pure
peace…that the world I live in does not have any of those horrible things in
it. My neighbors wave and say
hello. The clerk at the store smiles and
wishes me well. My millennial children
have been raised with a foundation of values that helps them to recognize truth
from satan’s lies. My grandchildren will
grow up loved, cared for, taught well and blessed because in my lineage were
men and women who have trusted God’s truths through the years…and been found
faithful to the end.
I have fretted and worried and grown angry at the pettiness
of men when the one I should be angry with is the enemy of God who has lied and
deceived and continues to divide and destroy.
But I was reminded tonight that God works in mysterious ways. And no one would have believed that a baby
born in a stable and laid in a manger would become the focal point for
measuring time…would grow up to perform miracles…healing the lame…helping the
blind to see. No one could have known
that night the baby would be worshipped by shepherds who would spread the news
and light a fire that would continue to burn over 2,000 years later. And no one had a clue that night the baby
would one day lay down His life…so that I could have eternal life with God!!!
God works in mysterious ways.
If He can work with a baby born of “insignificant” parents in the
history of men and women…if He could draw three “wise” men from afar to
recognize His significance…if He could make twelve weak, every day men turn
into bold disciples and witnesses that could grow a church that spans the globe
today…I suspect he can use a man with funny hair and a foul mouth and a strange
mind and a caring heart to do whatever God wants to do with this land. We wait to see if God is saving our land…or
judging our land. But this I know…
I am praying for Donald Trump. I am praying for Mike Pence. I am praying for the men and women of the
Senate and Congress. I am praying for
the members of the Supreme Court.
And I am praying for my neighbors...especially the ones who live far away and continue to act out. I choose to love despite their actions. I choose to love despite their opinions of me
and my faith. I choose to love…and my
world will continue to be a world full of “peace that passes understanding” amid
the hatred and turmoil and sinful actions of those who feel differently. May God bless America!
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