Monday, December 26, 2011

Christmas Hope: Painted on the Scene of Despair


I hope you enjoyed your weekend celebrations!  Here is my latest letter...

Cheer and hope is in the air this season, as we all flit around giving gifts and taking in the Christmas lights and sights.  But on that cool night in the Bethlehem inn, there was hardship, discouragement, and I’d bet there were even moments of despair.  Mary had been given a joyous task, but I am certain it was a chore to take the journey away from home, quite pregnant, to give birth to the Holy Child, Jesus.  And Joseph had his moments of discouragement and despair, I am sure.  His beautiful betrothed was with child…and before he had the vision to let him in on the what was happening, I can only guess that he was losing hope, having planned to ‘to divorce her secretly’, Matthew 1:19, HCSB…if my wedding had been called off, after all the excitement of planning and preparation, I’m sure I would have been feeling lots of despair.  Even the time in history God chose to paint the landscape of the Nativity Story was a dark one.  The governmental powers and challenges were tense, the rebuilding of the temple was slow and not nearly as grand as the previous one, and there had been no revelations from God for hundreds of years.  [source:  my knowledgeable former-pastor husband]



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