Amos 5:1-17; Jude 1-16; Matt. 22:1-14
Psalm 16: 1 Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge
Psalm 17: 3 If you try my heart, if you visit me by night, if you test me, you will find no wickedness in me;
Psalm 22: 1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
As I read through the readings for today, I realized this theme in the Psalms: protect me, test me, don’t give up on me. Such strong messages of longing for trust in God. During this season of Advent, we wait. We sit and wait, with great expectation based on our belief that God will provide our Savior and thus is reliable and trustworthy. But believing and truly trusting in our hearts, these aren’t necessarily the same thing. Quite frankly, trust can be a very hard thing to achieve.
I happen to be one of the many people for whom December has not always been joyful. I am able to feel joy now, and only share to make a point that this season of Joy and Love can be dark and challenging, made all the more so because the messages we hear all around us seem to tell us it’s time to feel happy and excited…but often we are not. For me, I’ve had a friend die, a sibling psychiatrically hospitalized, and two miscarriages happen in December. Darkness came suddenly and certainly dominated the holidays those years. I am sure that I am not alone with this and each year I’m aware that people struggle with holiday seasons filled with lights where perhaps they see only darkness. While loss and pain can bring us closer to God, sometimes we wonder where God is and whether He will ever truly be there for and with us…and it is easy to fall out of relationship with Him when this happens.
Yet healing does happen. With healing, we can find perspective on our hurts and incorporate them into the fabric of our lives, since every experience contributes to who we are. God’s grace is a wondrous thing; it comes in and provides healing and restores balance. It happens whether we can call for it or not. God moves miraculously through the people in our lives, within the communities we share, and continues to remind us of His ever-presence, shouting when needed. I am always amazed when I recognize this, sometimes surprised that I can recognize it at all. With the busy-ness of this season in addition to the hurts we carry, it can be so hard to keep a listening ear and a watchful eye. But we have to keep trying, for ourselves, and for others so we can share God’s arms to embrace and ears to listen and face to smile for those who desperately need to feel His presence in this world.
As I watch and wait this HOLYday season, I trust that God will continue to touch all of our lives in special, unexpected ways, ultimately sharing Joy when we are ready. If not this year, then soon I pray.
Jude 2: May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.
Amen.
Lori Churchill
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