Look at these beautiful creatures! Created by the hand of God Himself. I'm overwhelmed just looking at them, not out of pride, but out of absolute, overflowing joy! How often with children we must remember that we worship the Creator, not the creation. Our fleshly nature draws us to the latter, but we know they are all precious ones in His sight, made BY God and FOR God. When I look at each of their faces they make me smile. Each of them so unique and so perfectly fashioned for the purpose for which they were made...for such a time as this. God knew exactly what He was doing when He formed each of them. He had a plan from the foundation of the world. A plan in which Kenny and I would be their Mama and Daddy and help prepare them for the next seasons of life that are ahead of them. A plan that only God Himself can see for now.
I can't help but think how overwhelmed Mary must have been when she first held and saw her precious baby. He was the Creator AND a creation put in flesh...hard to wrap my head around really. I'll never forget the emotions I had the first Christmas after my first child was born. I wrote about it vividly in my journal back then. I remember everything looked and felt different that Christmas. It's like this part of me came alive that didn't exist before. All of a sudden the stories of Jesus I had heard for years meant something now. I couldn't view any of it the same ever again. I would let myself just dwell deeply on each piece of Christmas...Mary's pregnancy and birth. REALLY? She went through all that natural childbirth in a stable? The pain, the fear of the unknown, the physical side of things that must be dealt with after the birth of a baby? Then the emotions of holding and looking at that newborn you have known for so many months now...watching His every movement and realizing that's what you've been feeling inside of you all these weeks. The incredible sense of responsibility that weighs on you in a new way than ever before once you see and hold that baby. Life. This beautiful, perfect life you are holding. So fresh from heaven. This creature crafted by the hand of God Himself and here in your arms. Overwhelming isn't a big enough word. Every verse of scripture I read had new meaning. Every song I had heard for years brought tears to my eyes that I couldn't hold back, because I felt them now. Those emotions haven't decreased one bit over the years, but have done quite the opposite. When I stop and realize that my Lord GAVE His only son to give me life...sacrificed Him for me, I can't even go there in my mind. It's beyond me.
As you look at the sweet faces of the children on our Christmas card, I hope you will see a picture of Christ. I pray that each of their lives impacts the kingdom of God in a mighty way and that they follow Him all of their days with humble, servant hearts. I pray that they are lights in the darkness around them, and that each of them fulfill the great purposes for which they were created...BY God and FOR God.
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