It seems like there is Christmas cheer everywhere, maybe even more so this year, as so many are finally able to see friends and loved ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that may not be your story. You may feel like you are walking through this season with bricks on your feet because everything is just…SO… heavy. May I tell you that you are not alone?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For many, this is NOT the most wonderful time of the year because, for some of us, every gathering you see is a reminder of broken relationships or loss in your own story, and all one can do is wait on those stories to have a happy ending. So, this season is spent waiting…and wondering…if that wholeness will ever come.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you can relate to that, there are two people in the Christmas story that I want to make sure you don’t miss!<\/p>\n\n\n\n About a week after Jesus was born, there was an official ceremony at the Temple. First, he was circumcised, then named, and there was an offering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you keep reading in Luke 2, you’ll learn about someone\u00a0who had been waiting his whole life.<\/strong>\u00a0His name was Simeon, and the Bible says he was “eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel.”\u00a0<\/em>(Luke 2:25 NLT<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Please read what Simeon says once he meets baby Jesus!<\/a><\/strong> There is so much more there, but one thing he declares is, “I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people.”\u00a0(Luke 2:30-31<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph,\u00a0we meet another who had been waiting<\/strong>…a woman named Anna had been widowed for decades and never left the Temple. She stayed day and night in intimate connection with God. Scripture says that once Anna saw Jesus, “She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.” (Luke 2:36-38 NLT<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Did you catch that??? Anna was waiting on rescue too.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you have relationships or areas of your life that you need Jesus to rescue? I do too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When this season feels less-than-awesome, can you and I commit to “eagerly wait” for Jesus to redeem our stories?<\/p>\n\n\n\n