If Only It Had All Been Just a Dream
In a small home with a single window sat a young girl. Her eyes were glistening & her cheeks were tear-stained. Her gaze out the window was more of an empty, blank stare. She felt too numb to really acknowledge much of anything going on inside or out.
Around her, she heard screams & cries, as the world seemed to be crashing in around her.
Everything sounded muffled, muted, as if everything were just a dream at this point.
She wished it were all just a dream. She wished she could wake up. She wished that none of it was real… only a sick imagining of her mind.
But it WAS real & today was the worst day of her life.
Carefree Giggles That All Came Crashing Down
Just yesterday, she was playing in the dirt street with her friends, carefree & giggling… with her little baby brother begging for attention… which she had ignored.
She had felt too big to play with a little baby. She wanted to seem grown up & worthy to play with the older kids instead, even though her mother had tried unsuccessfully to convince her to do otherwise.
Oh, how she wished she could turn back time, for now she would have chosen much differently. She would have left the older kids in a heartbeat for one more smile out of her little, sweet brother.
But it was too late for that now.
A Cruel King, an Unimaginable Terror
“Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.” (Matthew 2:16)
The king had issued a decree of the cruelest nature. He had commanded for every little boy to be killed. She couldn’t understand why, but the why didn’t matter anymore. Nothing mattered.
The soldiers had rushed in, asked where her brother was, & without thinking, she had pointed, without considering what might come next.
The fear had made her brain stop. She hadn’t had time to think that maybe they had poor intentions… that they would do what they would do. She had just pointed.
And in a flash, a quick stride across the room, & a slash… her brother was gone. His cries had stopped.
It Was Too Late
Her heart had dropped to the floor. Her mind couldn’t wrap around what had just happened. The shock overwhelmed her & even long after the soldier had stormed out, she just stared blankly in her brother’s direction, numb & unbelieving & unmoving.
Her parents had rushed in from the field, had seen her brother & had pushed past her in desperate, hurried hopes of saving him… but it was too late.
It was far too late. There was no hope. Her brother was gone.
The Grief, the Shame, the Guilt
She didn’t remember when the sobs kicked in, but once they did, they would not stop. She collapsed to the dirt floor & cried with her whole self.
Her parents had tried to console her, tried to reassure her, tried to make her feel safe, but none of that mattered. She had killed her baby brother. Her sweet, helpless baby brother… & he was gone… because of her.
Logic didn’t matter as her parents tried to say it would have happened either way.
She had helped. She had pointed. It felt like it was all her fault.
A Bright Twinkling Star in the Sky
And now, as the sun had already set, as her parents wept quietly in bed on the other side of the single-roomed home, the little girl still sat sullenly at their one window, feeling incapable of leaving this one spot, letting her mind numb over as she stared blankly at the night sky.
And past her numb, aching stare, a twinkling of grandest scale seemed to beg for her attention & for a brief moment, she allowed her numb gaze to hone in on the strange star that shone brighter than any other star that evening, in the sky not so far away.
And for the first time that day, she felt an unexplained twinkling ray of hope shine into her heart that comfort, love, & hope could possibly be not so far away.
What Child Is This?
“So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:6-7)
Not so far away, in a manger made to feed the stable animals at the inn that had no more room for these particular traveling guests, lay a very special Baby.
But this was no ordinary baby….
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
“Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel [“God with us”].” (Isaiah 7:14)
“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary…. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest… He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:26-33)
The Light of the World
“For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)
“… He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it…. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1-14)
He Came to Take Away the Sins of the World
“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)
This was no ordinary baby. This baby, born in a manger, was Jesus Christ, eternally God, born in flesh, to live as man but sinless, to love & to heal & to teach & to eventually offer His life to all, (“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”-Romans 5:8) even to those who actively were rejecting Him, saying on the cross, “Lord forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
He was Emmanuel, God with us…
… The hope come into the world.
Shine HIS Hope
While it is true that Herod killed the children of Bethlehem when Jesus was no longer a baby in a manger, the truth of hope-come-to-man is quite the same regardless. A helpless baby was the form our great God took on so that He could be the rescue we all need. The HOPE we all long for.
Praise Jesus Christ Emmanuel this Christmas!
Shine HOPE this Christmas by being a light to the hope we all have because Jesus came to earth to die for men, to reconcile us to God for all who repent & believe on Him! *Praise Him, the Savior of the World!*
Coming Next Week
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Each week, I feature an item that is changing lives for women around the world. These hand-crafted pieces are offering job creation opportunities for women artisans in impoverished nations all around the world! Consider these pieces when shopping for friends, family, or yourself. Check out this week’s featured beauty!!
Corte Whale Pouch (GUATEMALA)
LIMITED EDITION – Available While Supplies Last! Artisans in Guatemala handcraft this eco-friendly artisanal design from upcycled Corte, traditional Mayan woman’s skirt, and tipico fabric, traditional Guatemalan fabric. Each ethically made pouch is one of a kind, and beautifully crafted into a whale shaped pencil pouch. Lined with 100% cotton, this Corte Whale Pouch is ideally sized to carry a little one’s everyday essentials with fun style.
*****Every purchase provides safe jobs with fair wages for women in areas of extreme poverty in Guatemala.*****
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