Dear Friends and Fellow Children of God,
Christmas is upon us. All the parties and gift giving, all the card sending and receiving, the ornaments and the TV specials, can be overwhelming. This overwhelming nature of Christmas celebration also often distracts from the reason we celebrate. Even the extra worship services which point us to the real joy of Christmas, can add to our overloaded schedule. But, into our overwhelming and troubled world, in a miraculous and wondrous way, God sent His Son. We were hopelessly lost in a world of death because of our sin. The examples of loss, of tragedy, of evil and suffering are all around us. But, “2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. . . 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ” (Isaiah 9:2, 6)
We were hopelessly lost in a world
of death because of our sin. But, “10 . . . the angel said to them,
"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all
the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is
Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign
to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." (Luke 2:10-12) The meaning
of Christmas,
the peace and the joy
of this celebration, is
found in God’s gift to us of His Son.
There are ways in which we can say
that Jesus had “unusual parentage. There are ways in which we can say that
Jesus was “homeless in Bethlehem.” But
through the love and power of God we received what we need more than
anything. In the birth of Jesus we
receive the forgiveness and love which gives eternal life. The meaning of Christmas is found in God’s
gift to us of His Son. The peace and joy
of Christmas often grows through giving this gift of God’s love to others.
Today I want to share with you a “different” Christmas story, where a child of “different parentage”, who might have been “homeless”, receives love and a home through a family living and rejoicing in the love of God found in Jesus. St. John member, Dave Neslund, wrote this post on his Facebook page last week. (Dave was on a TV show about families in Sweden last year. That is his reference to this TV show.) Please read with me.
“Hi everyone...this is @DavidNeslundAlltForSverige from season 8
Days later, we were attending a Church Family camp and all the campfire talks were all about Allt for Sverige (The Swedish TV show) and what this experience is…We decided to go home that night, and as we were leaving we noticed that our good friends were holding a swaddled baby. We didn't know anyone who was expecting, so out of curiosity we pulled over to find out who this baby belonged to. Before we could say anything, our friends handed Kristine a very tiny, very new baby girl and simply said, "this baby needs a home". We were utterly shaken and thrown off balance by this statement--- Who is this child?? This is when we first met Araya Hope.
We soon found out that she had been placed in emergency foster care with the piano player of our church, and she could only care for her for a few days while the State found a long term foster family….she had been born 5 weeks early and only weighed 4 pounds 10 oz...she was so tiny, so precious, and our hearts melted. BUT we were unsure if we were up to this task. We stayed up late talking about "all of this", Kristine and I had already started signing up to be foster parents a few years earlier, but Bjorn came into our lives (he was born at 23 weeks and 1 day) and fostering was no longer in our line of sight - until we met her. We made a phone call, setting the ball in motion. They visited our home, approved our application, and Araya came to live with us when she was only 11 days old.
It didn't take long for Kristine, myself, Leif and Bjorn to completely fall in love with this tiny, fragile human. Leif, being the big brother of a micro-preemie, already knew all the safety routines and was an instant protector. When your children come to you, the time is perfect - all you need is “a ray of hope.”
After 18 months of caring, waiting, loving, and hoping.... Wednesday morning (December 4) at 10:15am we officially became a family of 5...the veil has been lifted and we can now share her story. she is officially the newest member of the Neslund family - Nikolina Elaine Araya Hope Neslund.
It's hard to summarize the emotional effort that has gone into this past 18 months, but I can tell you this: family comes in every shape and size imaginable - none are perfect, but if you have love in your heart wonderful things happen.
Faith. Hope. Love. These are the three words that define our Children. LOVE, brought us Lief
FAITH, brought Bjorn through his infancy, and HOPE brought Nikolina home.
Love and peace to you all. Have an amazing Christmas holiday!”
Thank you, Dave and Kristine, that you not only have received God’s love in the gift of His Son, Jesus, into your lives. Thank you for helping us to receive God’s gift of love by showing us one way to share God’s gift of love to us.
So, . . . how are YOU sharing God’s gift of love in Jesus this Christmas?
A Child of God, Touched by the Gift of God’s Son, and Especially by the Sharing of God’s Love,
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. Here are some pictures from Dave’s Facebook post. https://photos.app.goo.gl/xwXPq9Pmm94h5Vqt9
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ABOUT THIS DEVOTION – I am now retired as senior pastor of St. John Lutheran in Palmer, AK. This devotion was previously titled, “Thoughts from the Pastor.” However, with life’s changes I will now call it, “Journeys Through Life as a Child of God.” I am only sending this message to those who have asked to receive it. If you know someone else who desires to receive this message have them e-mail me at jonrock53@mtaonline.net. You can also view this message on my Facebook page.
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