No matter how cold it is right now in many places around the country, it is a 100% guarantee that spring will come soon. In many ways, our lives go through seasons just like we observe in nature. Our country seems to be going through a very harsh winter. Unemployment is at an all-time high, stores that we shopped at all of our lives are disappearing, and our country is still involved in a fight against terrorism.
It is hard to imagine a new beginning for our country. The best time to prepare is during winter. I remember how difficult it was to breathe after the two wildfires in my neighborhood. The awful smell lingered for months. We had to change our air filters in our home and our cars often. Everywhere you looked, all you could see was blackness. Then the rains came. After months of darkness, some green started to appear.
Nature was already prepared for the wildfires. Rare trees and plants began to sprout. They needed an event like the wildfire to turn on a special switch inside so that a new cycle of life could be initiated.
This period of winter that all of us are going through can ignite a new life inside of us if we are willing to prepare for spring. We have the opportunity to develop our gifts and work on our relationships with others while we are in this slow season. Tough times bring people together.
Two thousand years ago, in a remote area far away, a young couple was traveling with no money or friends. It was a cold winter and the wife was pregnant. She knew that the new life that was inside her womb would make all things new again once He came into the world.
Like most families in our world today, this young couple faced many seasons. I cannot imagine how the mother felt when she watched her innocent Son get tortured and put to death. Maybe she was thinking about the day he was born in a land far off in the middle of winter? Perhaps she was contemplating how her Son would make all things new by sacrificing Himself on earth's darkest day? Could she see the spring while she was going through her worst winter ever?
In just eight days, in the middle of winter, we will be celebrating a birthday. Many in the world look at this day as a day off from work to open gifts. If you look hard enough, you just might find a manger that reminds us of the most important birthday of all times. Yes, He has a gift for you. It is the promise that you will get through all the winters in your life and meet Him in the spring when He returns. His mother visualized this day over two thousand years ago when she gave birth to Him. He came for you and He wants you to remember Him on His birthday and make plans to be there waiting for Him on the day He returns in the spring. Will you be ready to meet Him?
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