The Final Peace
By Lisa Boyer
“The one who calls you
is faithful, and he will do it.”
1 Thessalonians 5:24 (NIV)
I’d just spent the last 10 days visiting some of the most significant
sites in Israel. I’d been to the Shepherd’s Field, the site believed to be the
birthplace of Jesus, the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized, Cana where He
performed His first recorded miracle, the site of the crucifixion, and the
garden with an empty tomb. Yet none of those places grabbed my heart as much as
staring up into the night sky my last evening in Israel.
I just stood there, mesmerized. I was looking up at the night
sky over Bethlehem. Just a few miles away from where I stood, an angel had
appeared to shepherds watching over their flocks by night and announced the
birth of Jesus, which had happened somewhere in the very town I was now
standing in! I was overwhelmed.
I knew the story by heart, backwards and forwards, but this
night, this night, my heart rejoiced. It was as though a journey
that had begun seven years before was finally complete.
Back in 2010, I had shared with Fresh Start readers my personal
struggle with Christmas. [1] I’d written of some intentional steps I’d taken to
properly celebrate Jesus’ birth in the only way that worked for me: separating my celebration from December 25th,
a date that had held so much pain for me. Since that time, Christmases had been
so much better as I no longer succumbed to depression during the holidays, but
I still hadn’t come to the place of joyfully
celebrating the birth of Jesus.
Until that moment in Bethlehem….
As our bus left Bethlehem that night, I asked if we could sing
“Oh Little Town of Bethlehem.” After verifying that I was indeed serious about
singing a Christmas song in October, we began singing…and we sang one Christmas
song after another on our way back to Jerusalem.
It was the highlight of the trip for me. Christmas songs, that
for years had been linked to a time of year I struggled with, became what they
were always supposed to be…a joyful celebration of the birth of Jesus!
GOING DEEPER:
1. Today, will you make a plan to
intentionally and personally celebrate the birth of Jesus this Christmas
season?
2. If you are one of the many who
struggle this time of year, will you bring your burden to our compassionate
God, asking Him to show you a way that you can freely celebrate the birth of
His Son?
FURTHER READING:
Lisa is married to Ted and they have two adult sons. Lisa serves
on a Sunday morning Welcoming Team and is an event photographer at
Oakwood.
(1) My First Christmas, October 29,
2010 http://www.oakwoodfreshstart.blogspot.com/2010/10/, My First Christmas Part Two, November 5, 2010 http://oakwoodfreshstart.blogspot.com/2010/11/my-first-christmas-part-2-by-lisa-boyer.html
