The stable falls silent and then—a cry. The thin cry of an infant, so welcome to waiting parents, to a laboring mother, who breathes a sigh of relief and falls back on her improvised pillow, laughing and weeping at once. As the father wraps the baby warmly and delivers him into Mary’s waiting arms, creation shares in her delight: the wait is over. The work is done. Emmanuel—God With Us—has come.
The Christ Candle
The final post in Deeply Rooted‘s Advent series, “The Christ Candle,” went up today, and writing it was a well-timed blessing: while I prepped for gatherings and baked sugar cookies from scratch with all three girls (because we will make memories, by gum!) and tried not to curl up in a weepy, overtired, pregnant ball, I also got to meditate on Jesus as the Light of the World. Verses like this one kept me going:
The people who walked in darkness
Isaiah 9:2, 6
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone . . .
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be on his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
You can read the full post here.
Merry Christmas, dear readers! Worship the Lord in quiet ways and with great noise (and sugar cookies) today. He has come!
