December 25, 2009
I cheated. Leo and I had decided to make something for each other for our Christmas gifts to each other. I am sitting here watching Leo and Jade play the Wii Nerf game I got them – it’s not exactly hand-made. I just couldn’t resist; seeing them play together is one of my treasured sights. Nothing beats the feeling of joyful anticipation that accompanies Christmas. While it is fun to watch my loved ones open presents, it is God’s presence that brings true joy. He wraps us in His Love, and I wait anxiously to unwrap His Peace. It’s the tension between the now and the not-yet that our pastor Chad always alludes to.
Of course, His gifts come when I least expect them. Sometimes the tension of the now ties up everything, and sometimes it only takes a hug from my husband to undo it all. Last night I could not sleep; the house was ready for Christmas and so was I. Today I get a taste of that peace that comes when the now meets the not-yet. Just a taste fills my heart with such light, such joy that I cannot imagine what the full experience of the not-yet, the second coming of Christ, would be like.
My prayer for you this Christmas is that you would taste Christ’s peace and “drink deep,” another quote from Chad. No matter the circumstances, there are times when the now and the not-yet meet to bless our lives in unimaginable ways. Leo and I are proof of that. We all are in our own ways.
Oh yeah, I must reconcile my cheating. I have had the joy of watching Leo’s talent as a photographer blossom; I have experienced the joy of our growing love; I have felt the joy of God’s grace. Leo, I thank God for you and thank you for sharing your life with me. I dedicate this blog to you in response to your encouragement and in the hopes that these words will continue to knit together our now with our not-yet. Merry Christmas.
Love, Lynn
