“No More Lives Torn Apart”
The season was festive, but my heart was bare. The climb to the top was far off. I had no clue what next year would bring.
I wrote this a year ago.
It’s been an effort to reframe what Christmas looks like this year. The staying home part is a bummer, but isn’t the worst either. The four rounds of chemotherapy and handful of doctor appointments this month is not very festive. But embracing the real reason for Christmas has been timely and challenging.
Accepting the gift of the miracle of Jesus’ birth this season is so different being in need of God’s supernatural power. I’m confident, I’m not the only one who feels like they are at battle or facing something tough this Christmas. I’m believing for you, that there is more to your Christmas than the unwanted part.
Somehow, this is just the way life unfolds. While my health completely turned around, I can’t help but think of the loved ones who are experiencing Christmas differently this year.
Really, who puts it better than Amy Grant? In her song, “Grown-Up Christmas List,” she goes on to say these earth shattering, baby crying in the manger words, “No More Lives Torn Apart.”
As I grow up or become more seasoned to the reality of the dark and light of this world, my priorities for receiving gifts have changed. My Christmas list as a kid and an adult have evolved over the years. They ranged from toys I still hadn’t outgrown, to everyday necessities. To my husband’s dismay, after riding the cancer wave, there’s really only one thing I want, “No More Lives Torn Apart.” Not something he can wrap and put under the tree at all.
The darkness of the world was so dense. Humanity torn apart by sin. Yet, God didn’t want our lives to self-destruct. He sent His perfect light into the world, a babe in a manger Jesus.
This past weekend, my daughter’s ballet class performed to the music “The Greatest Love,” by Tori Harper. The most profound part of the dance was the timing of the motions that went with the following lyrics:
The greatest love came for us
And we threw Him in the cold
Even so, He chose to come
I am so grateful, “Even so, He chose to come.” He came to be the light of the world (John 8:12).
This Christmas, my hope is to embrace the baby I throw in the cold. That in welcoming His light this season, and in all my days to come, I just might receive the gift of, “No more lives torn apart.”
Heavenly Father, thank you for lighting up my own darkness with your immeasurable light. Even when I feel like my life is in shambles, it is not. You hold it all together.
Merry Christmas!
