Merry Christmas 2024

As the years click by, time just continues to feel like it’s accelerating and in all honesty, it’s hard to keep up sometimes. Like a smooth Miles Davis LP played at 45 rpm, the sounds are still recognizable but something just doesn’t feel right. It’s just off a bit. But drop it down to 33 and you hear the pauses. You can sense the breath and feel the depth of joy and pain in every note as the record spins. That’s what this year has felt like to me. Slowing down, reevaluating priorities, and redefining the moments of my life with purpose and intention. Well, at least that’s what I’ve tried to do. It’s almost as if every natural inclination and outside influence are all working against us, pushing against our desire to slow down and forcing us deeper into apathy as we race through life, unaware and wandering.

I’m sure you’ve received Christmas letters telling of all the wonderful things people have done over the past year. Vacations, weddings, new babies, and graduations. In fact, that’s pretty much what my Christmas letter was last year, too, and honestly probably will be again next year. Nothing wrong with that at all. It’s fun to see the amazing gifts and experiences people have received throughout the year. But our Christmas letters don’t seem to talk about the difficulties much. The divorces, the loved ones lost, the disappointments, and heartaches. Those things are messy and who wants to hear about that stuff at Christmas time? But these are the reality of our lives. Joy AND pain. Victory AND defeat. Triumph AND tragedy. Sometimes we just have to slow down enough to see the magic in it all.

God brings beauty from ashes. God works all things together for good. God comes to us in our darkest nights, when we are hopeless and desperate. And that, my friends is the story of Christmas. It’s easy for us to get distracted and miss the wonder of the moment, that God so loved the world. The world. This messed up, divided, hateful, selfish, lustful, and greedy world. Me. You. Us. He so loved US. He came. He lived and walked among us. He experienced the tragedies and pain. He was ridiculed and rejected. He knows of our temptations and suffering. God came so he could know us. He came to heal our brokenness. He came, as a refugee infant, to redeem us and give us a better story. Let’s all take some time this season to slow down and take a breath. Consider the darkness we see in the world, the darkness of our own hearts, and all the messiness and evil that constantly fight against us, and take a moment to thank God that he came. Into all of it, he came to bring peace to our hearts and to the world. He is our Christmas miracle. Let’s celebrate him this season, and every day whether in good times or bad, because he so loved us that he came.

May this next year be full of life and joy in all things. May we love one another more, and strive to bring peace and goodwill toward all mankind.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!