A few thoughts from my heart...

I was asked to share my "story" at The Porch last week, and it forced me into a great time of reflection.  I sat down and tried to write out my life story in a few short bullet points.  It was eye opening to notice seasons and patterns in my life.  It was equally as interesting to see how the past 29 years of my life can best be summarized. 

So, that Tuesday night came, and I sat with the Sidewalk Team and shared my story.  It still feels surreal to tell about the way that Jesus has ushered me through different seasons and showed up in the most unsuspecting places.  But I love telling the story..and I love that His story for my life is still very much underway.  He is not, by any means, finished yet!

I met with my small group last week as well...having so many thoughts from "sharing my story" still on my heart.  And I asked the group how we can celebrate during this season.  Obviously, the world is ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  The neighborhoods are lined with lights and inflateable Santa's.  The streets are adorned with Christmas garb and the radio stations sound a little more joyful than usual.  As each girl shared, we heard stories of amazing joy and happiness coming out of their mouths!  Stories that might have been supressed if no one had asked if they had any reason to celebrate this season.  Our hope is to take these stories home to our families this Christmas and share what Jesus has been up to in our lives.  Oh, and then happily celebrate His birth and the fact that He came down from Heaven, was born as a baby, and saved us!

In my opinion, it was the very intentional plan of God to make Jesus' birth an entire "season" of celebration.  He never intended His birthday to last 24 hours, He wanted it to last many many days, and it does.  So what will celebrating look like this year?  If you're like me, you're over the quantity of gifts under the tree.  We're adults now, and we don't need a new pair of shoes that our parents bought us anymore.  For crying out loud, my mom is a public school teacher and the last thing we need is her spending her well deserved paycheck on a clothing item that has a 50/50 chance that I will even like. 

I'm celebrating that God showed up this year.  He got my attention.  He revealed a life to me that He has been mapping out for a long time.  He had people waiting for me.  He had a home waiting for me.  He had a church waiting for me.  He had a new community waiting for me.  He changed some of the hard parts of my heart.  He proved to me that He has my best intentions in mind.  He taught me new disciplines.  He put a few more pieces of the puzzle into place.  He let me unwrap freedom.  He shifted my focus on finances.  He mended broken relationships.  He set me free from guilt.  He showed me that His timing is always better than mine.  He lets my heart beat just a little bit faster because of the assurance I have in Him! 

Then I started looking at those around me...the closest ones...my family.  And I realized that their celebrations are abundant as well.  So, as I go home this year, I'm hoping to spend some time with my family talking about how much we have to celebrate.  Our stories are so intricate and intentional, and sometimes, it is not until we are asked to share our own story that we even realize all that God has done in our life.  Our tree is not going to be exploding with wrapped gifts this year, and I love that our celebrations will likely be richer than ever before!