Sometimes I Write

We have finally dug out from under all the snow we’ve gotten this week! No doubt you’ve heard about the Denver blizzard of ’06! We got about 28″ at our house and were truly snowed in for two days. Thankfully, I had grocery shopped as the snow began to pile up and I made it home safely. Benny had to shovel out the driveway so I could park. I haven’t seen a snowfall like this in several years. I grew up in WI, so a lot of snow is nothing new to me. My kids loved playing in it, and we even have video footage of Max jumping off our roof. Yeah, I’m a fun mom – I was the one recording it. This has been a great opportunity to connect with our neighbors as we all helped each other dig out our walkways and driveways. We didn’t have anywhere to go really, everything was shut down and the roads were horrible. The airport is still struggling to get the runways clear. They have five open as of this afternoon. DIA is huge, and so is the job of clearing the snow away. They couldn’t clear it out faster than it fell from the sky. The worst part of this blizzard was the delay in Angi’s arrival. She was supposed to fly in from IN on Thursday, but due to the blizzard she won’t be arriving until Tuesday afternoon – after Christmas. We’re sad she’s missing out on the Nowell festivities, but look forward to ringing in the new year with her.

I have received several Christmas letters this year from many people I love, but there is one that I enjoyed so much that I had to share a bit of it with you. I’m on Lisa Whelchel’s mailing list, and she touched my heart with her Christmas letter this year. She talked about feeling inadequate after reading about some of the stellar tidbits of activities in other families and child prodigies in training. She shared about her weight gain this year and how her latest book fell short of it’s projected sales goal, how her family struggled through some tough things this year, and how through it all she needs Jesus. I laughed and got teared up reading her words and related in so many ways. Here is the last part of her letter…

“Now, don’t you feel better? Merry Christmas! In my opinion, this letter more accurately reflects the spirit of Christmas. No, stay with me here a minute, I’m serious. Why did Jesus come to earth in the first place? Because we desperately need a Savior! We are fat, yet so empty. We owe a debt we cannot pay. We are not good enough in our own strength. He came to heal the brokenhearted. He calls us friend. He came to set free those of us who are bound because of the mess we’ve made of our lives.

We aren’t the first ones to celebrate Christmas as primarily the birth of the King of kings, conveniently skipping the whole “Suffering Servant” role of the promised Messiah. Yes, Jesus will reign and rule forever, but the “good news of great joy” that the angel declared to the shepherds on the very first Christmas was that a Savior was born. I need that Messiah this year!

How about you? Have you, like me, been tempted to believe that we will be better witnesses for Jesus in our Christmas letters if we are living victoriously, reigning over our circumstances, and ruling with authority, as befits a child of the King? If that is where you have lived this year, then praise God, you have enjoyed an early taste of heaven.

If, on the other hand, you have lost or failed or died or cried or experienced any other symptom of humanity, then celebrate Christmas with me this year. The birth of the baby Jesus, God in human form. Our High Priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses. The King who wore a crown of thorns. We have eternity to reign with the King of kings. Today I need a Savior. That is the reason He was born. This is why we can celebrate no matter what kind of year we’ve had.”
– Lisa Whelchel