So did you find the wonder of Christmas this year?
Have you found your “glorious impossible” yet?
God always does that you know; He makes “glorious-impossibles” happen all over the world.
Most of the time they are over-looked and ignored; but if you really notice with your heart; you will see them.
God has a way of putting His glory into your impossible and making miracles.
They seem to happen most often at Christmas time, so every year I always remember to look for the glorious-impossibles!
I’ve never been disappointed.
God always shows me something.
No year is ever the same. Each year holds a different treasure; but each one is very, very special.
Over the past years in my life, this concept of finding the “glorious-impossibles” has materialized in so many different ways.
One year it was a yard full of red birds on Christmas morning.
One year it was a whole new family that I gained overnight.
Another year it was the secret of how to make Christmas out of nothing at all.
God is always making something out of nothing; and if you believe in the power of His love, you can do it too.
They are wonderful; these “glorious-impossibles.”
So always remember to keep looking for your glorious-impossibles until you find them.
The glorious-impossibles will teach you things that you will never forget. They are often the bridges found between happy and sad, lost and found, fear and safety, despair and joy.
That is probably why I see so many of them around Christmas time. Christmas is such a teachable time. There is always something new that God is teaching us at Christmas.
What has God been showing you this year?
These little life-lessons fill us up with thankfulness. They always seem to show up in the times when we least expect them. I’ve also noticed that they always choose to appear in the most unusual faces and places. If you are not very careful, you will not notice them at all; but looking back you will always remember they were there.
For me; this year has been all about a quieter kind of joy.
It is as if I’m soaking up some kind of wonder that I may never find again.
I sense that Christmas (as we have always known it) is slowly fleeing away; and that it may not be so much in the future of our world as it has been in the past.
This makes me sad; and I hope to be a small part of the world that keeps the good things of the season going.
Yet; even this somber fact has not been able to rob me of my joy of the present year. It has only given me a deeper appreciation for the precious things that I’ve often taken for granted in days gone by.
I’ve always been glad to be living in a country where you could express your religious beliefs openly and without persecution.
I sense that may not last much longer in America; so this year I’m proclaiming Christmas as loud and long as I can make a joyful noise!
I do not take the fleeting gift of freedom and free speech for granted.
I am grateful to still have these blessings as I ponder the glorious-impossibles of this past year.
Besides the last precious years of still living in freedom; there are also many other things of 2013 for which I am grateful.
Last year I found myself living through tough financial circumstances. I’m grateful this year has brought a change.
I can remember as Christmas approached in 2012 that I was feeling down and a bit apprehensive. Financially we had been through several very hard years. 2012 was the second Christmas in a row that my husband had been without a job.
God taught me a lot during that time. Most of my life lessons were about how happiness and joy cannot be bought and paid for with money and financial success. I learned how our greatest treasures are absolutely free for the taking.
It was the first time that my mind had ever conceived the possibility that poverty is only a frame of mind, and not a place where anyone really has to live for very long. There are riches untold that have no price tags and cost no money. The best things to own are gifts from God that you cannot buy or sell.
The Great Creator showed me how to be so creative myself that no one ever suspected how much money I didn’t have in my pockets.
I made the cutest little gifts from just the common, ordinary things I found lying around the house; and they were all a great hit with their receivers!
This year our children are all still sharing how they have used the things I made for them; and I’m still smiling. They think the smiles are because I’m pleased they are still finding joy from the gifts I gave them last year; but the smile is actually from the peace and joy of knowing a God who looks after me and cares for me no matter where I find myself in life.
That is the wonder I’m still pondering the most at the end of 2013.
That is the gift God keeps showing me over and over, time after time, year after year.
Though I didn’t make my gifts this year from free things that I found around the house – I did catch myself being more selective in the meanings of my gifts, and a lot less concerned about the dollar amount spent.
This year for the first time I truly realized that less money wasted on frivolous “stuff” meant more money that could be useful in helping others with true needs.
Having been on the other side of the equation last year; that message rang out from my heart during this year like never before.
Perhaps because of this message finally leaving my head and sinking down into my heart; God seemed to be putting just the right present ideas for just the right price for just the right person before my eyes every where that I shopped in 2013.
It was the first year in my history of Christmas shopping adventures that I didn’t even have to worry about having the right presents. I knew everyone would love what I had for them.
It all just happened like magic. It actually felt like I had angels monitoring my shopping list. I’m sure that was a great probability.
God gave me the joy this year of knowing I had found just the right gift for everyone. This very pleasing emotion (which I had never truly experienced before) felt like a beautiful gift hidden just for me among all the many other gifts I was giving to others.
My eyes had been opened enough to see what was happening and I recognized this very awesome moment for what it was. It was truly more than the concept of buying the right presents for the right people. It was more about caring for the people enough to look beyond the surface and see the real person that God had created.
For the first time in my life; I wasn’t buying gifts just because you typically give gifts at Christmas. I hate to admit I had been that shallow at times; but now I finally had my heart in the right place.
In all the joy of actually being able to give; I was carefully thinking of the person I was buying the gift for, and KNOWING that this gift was meant exclusively for them.
I was so thankful and felt so blessed to be able to purchase these things freely without worry for those that I loved and cared for.
As I was going about the business of finishing up the shopping, I caught myself suddenly realizing how many answered prayers I had received during the past year of my life. My husband had found a great new job. My own working hours had been restored back to full-time. The debts we had accumulated during the long struggle had now been paid off. I was not being pressured to make any new debts; and I had learned to enjoy Christmas from where I was with whatever I had to offer. Life had become a whole lot simpler; and a great deal better.
It was wonderful to comprehend this change in our state of thinking and living; and it was freeing to realize in all the struggle we had found more than financial relief. We had learned how to live with abundance.
Last year we had considered selling our home which we loved so much and we even felt fortunate to have it to give up if needed.
In this just a year later, I found myself happily decorating the same place that we had called our castle for many years. I’ve been using all of the old familiar ornaments handed down through the family and loving every minute of it. Somehow all the same old things seem to have increased in value.
It is as if EVERYTHING suddenly become new and magical to me – simply because I’ve learned by living through this year how wonderful it can be to count your blessings in every circumstance. My joy is now overflowing.
I find my priorities are completely changed.
In the midst of all this abundance that I am feeling – I have a strong growing concern and compassion for all those who still find themselves going through troubled times. I sense that this will continue for many people for much longer than we can imagine.
Not everyone can sing a song of joy today; and I know and feel their pain. I know it because I’ve been there too; and God held my hand and walked me through those rough, hard years.
Also I’ve noticed there are those who have lost people that they love. They are sad to not have them around for the holidays. Memories from years and years of family traditions will be bittersweet for them. I know and feel that pain with these too.
There are those who have been pulled into circumstances beyond their control that have wrecked their lives. I’ve been there too.
There are those looking for work and those who need money to feed their children. I understand.
There are those who have given all they have to receive nothing back but more worry and pain. God has graciously walked me down these same roads. I feel their pain and I wait with them with hope of a better tomorrow.
I can honestly tell them there will be a better tomorrow.
I did not understand it then, but I know now that God was teaching me to believe in the glorious-impossibles of life.
I have learned enough to know my own circumstances could change again in any given second.
So what is bringing me such joy this year in the midst of troubled times?
I have learned (like The Apostle Paul) to be content in all circumstances.
All through this season as I decorated the tree, prepared the food, and bought the presents, I kept remembering a verse from the Apostle Paul which I memorized years ago:
Philippians 4:11-13
New International Version (NIV)
says: ” I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
This to me is the true definition of a “glorious- impossible.”
So you see; now every year I look for God’s glory in the impossible and I call it the “glorious impossible” when I see it.
This year – this scripture is the definition of the words which I’ve come call “glorious-impossibles.” I HAVE learned to be content through all things because I HAVE learned that Christ is always with me. I’ve met these circumstances up close and personal and I now really KNOW about the passage that I’m quoting. They are not rote words to me. I have lived out the meanings.
This KNOWING is the greatest gift of all.
May you find it too – to know Christ and to know His love throughout all eternity.
Merry Christmas!
