He Lived Among Us

Grief and Healing - Download the eBook

helivedamongus

“Christmas – that magic blanket that wraps itself about us, that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance. It may weave a spell of nostalgia. Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer, but always it will be a day of remembrance – a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved.” – Augusta E. Rundel

It is often hard to believe how God can be with us if we cannot even see Him. How many times have we sighed, “If we could only see Him, everything will be alright.”

But could God really be so far away?

We may not always realize it, but God is near, within your heart, and with every heart that knows how to love.

He is in friends that talk to you when you are sad, in families that make sure home is always there for you at the end of the day.

He is in every hand that lifts you up, in every smile that cheers you, in every word that tells you how special you really are.

We may not always remember, for the distractions of this world often make us forget.

But in Christmas, we are given a chance again to realize the things that are truly important in our lives.

We remember once more the many people that gave us a glimpse of God’s face. That gaze of love that made us whole again and strong again. That helped us carry on no matter how great our burdens were. That helped us dream again no matter how many times we fell.

Behold! God Himself came down from heaven to be with us. He revealed His face in the innocent face of a little child.

Out of the darkness He called us and blessed us with His Presence that we may know, that we may never forget. God lives, and for as long as we live in love, He lives today in you and in me.

The Word became flesh, and lived amongst us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. – John 1:14, WEBBE

God Is With Us

godiswithus

Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart…filled it, too, with melody that would last forever.- Bess Streeter Aldrich

I think that there is no other faith that is as unthinkable as the one that could believe in God coming down from heaven to become man. A faith that insists we need not remain in darkness because Light Himself has pierced through our shadows to illumine our path.

But as Christians, that is just what we believe, and Christmas reminds us of all that.

Christmas reminds us that it isn’t our failures that matter, because there is One who can save us and make us whole again.

Christmas reminds us that it isn’t our wounds that should overwhelm us, because there is One who can heal us and give us life.

Christmas reminds us that no matter how empty and alone we may feel, no matter how deserted by the world we think we are, we need not be alone.

God Himself has reached out to us from heaven. God Himself has walked the night to accompany us towards a new day. We are not on our own anymore because God has come, God is with us!

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child,
and shall give birth to a son.
They shall call his name Immanuel;”
which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”
-Matthew 1:23, WEBBE

The First Christmas

thefirstchristmas

“A God who became so small could only be mercy and love” – St. Therese of Lisieux

This Is Christmas

God could have come in all His glory,
with trumpets and angels and all,
blazing like fire,
dazzling like lightning
as terrible as the raging of the seas!

But on that Christmas Eve,
He came as a newborn child,
small and gentle,
humble and innocent
as harmless as a dove.

Why He came like this
I didn’t know,
until I looked at my own fears
and wounds.

How could I have come to Him
had I been so afraid?
How could I have even
looked at His face?

But as that babe,
I could cradle Him in my arms,
I could whisper to Him my heart’s desires
I could look upon His eyes
without being judged
without being cast away.

And I love Him more
because He chose to come that way.
Because though He came for the whole world,
He also came for me,
and He knew me,
He knew how I longed to be loved.

But more than loving me,
He allowed me to love Him
and to care for Him,
to carry Him
even though He is actually the One
who carries me.

This is Christmas
This is Holy Night.
In that simple stable
silent and small,
I was saved,
I was healed,
I have been found.

For a CHILD IS BORN to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace. – Isaiah 9, DRA

Pray Like a Child

praylikeachild

“Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven.” – Henry Ward Beecher

We don’t need to impress anyone when we pray.

We can pray simply and sincerely, like children usually do.

Pray from the heart. Pray with trust. Pray knowing that your Heavenly Father is listening to you, loving you, and is even more desirous than you are to grant you your prayer, provided that it would be best for you.

The Prayer of a Child

The prayer of a child
is often answered.

It is answered
because it is pure.

It is answered
because it has no fear.

It does not think about the past,
it does not worry about the future.

It is not ashamed to express the truth,
it is not ashamed to express how it feels.

The prayer of a child
goes right up to heaven,
unto the ears of God
who hears it,
because it wants to be heard.

The prayer of a child
is answered
even before it has been uttered.

It was answered
when the child started to pray
with her heart.

From the lips of babes and infants you have established strength… – Psalm 8:2, WEBBE

Happiness Is Ever New

happinessisevernew

“Happiness is like manna; it is to be gathered in grains, and enjoyed every day. It will not keep; it cannot be accumulated; nor have we got to go out of ourselves or into remote places to gather it, since it has rained down from Heaven, at our very door.” – Tryon Edwards

When Happiness Flew

I found happiness once
It gave me so much life
that I never wanted it to depart.

So I tried to keep it in a drawer
I had it under lock and key
until the day I opened the drawer
and found that happiness
wasn’t anymore there for me.

I cried so hard when I lost it,
until the day when I found it again.
Happiness looked almost the same
yet a bit different
as it called my name.

It warned me never to keep it,
that if I wanted it back,
I have to let it go.

I was tempted to capture it again,
but then I remembered my drawer
and so I watched
as happiness flew.

I thought I’ve lost it for good,
but it came back from day to day,
always the same, yet always different
ever old but ever new.

I wasn’t afraid anymore,
and I knew I would never lose it again
because since I let it go,
happiness returned and became my friend.

By the river on its bank, on this side and on that side, will grow every tree for food, whose leaf won’t wither, neither will its fruit fail. It will produce new fruit every month, because its waters issue out of the sanctuary. Its fruit will be for food, and its leaf for healing. – Ezekiel 47, WEBBE