You did it. WE did it! Hooray for us! 24 days of reading God’s word. 24 days of devoting a little time to learning God’s voice. I’m so proud of you and me!
Take a moment to scroll all the way back to Day One. Grab a piece of paper and a pencil and jot down the websites, books, Instagram accounts, Music, Photography, Email subscriptions, Apps, Artists, Podcasts, Places, People, Recipes.
Then, take note of what struck you most – was it the beauty, the pain, the encouragement, the community?
Finally, we should list all the scripture from the posts. The Bible still blows my mind with all those words written so long ago and somehow still very alive and so powerful.
You know what ALLLLL this tells me?
GOD
WILL
STOP
AT
NOTHING.
God will stop at nothing to get YOUR attention.
These 24 days have just been a glimpse of how relentless God is trying to grab your attention.
Christmas gives us the sweetest example of this. Immanuel is God with us.
Jesus IS God with us.
But wait, the story doesn’t end here. There’s Good News! Jesus wasn’t just born, end of story. Jesus lived a life full of friendship and story telling and healing and teaching and loving. There’s more to learn. Jesus didn’t just live for you and me. He also died for you and me.
Today we celebrate His birth but there’s so much more.
And hey, if you’re reading this you’re alive too which means God’s not done with you. Your story with Him might just be beginning. Or maybe you go way back. Either way, keep walking with Jesus. Read His Word. Learn His voice. Look for Him.
Remember how we started this journey with Gods word as a “lamp for our feet”? Today let’s celebrate because the light is here. Jesus – God with us – is here “to guide our feet into the path of peace.” (Luke 1:79)
Thank you for being with me this Advent. You have made it so special for me.
Sunday mornings have always meant scarfing down Cheerios, screaming for the other shoe and piling in the car to get to church. Always.
Before I go further, you may have been hurt by someone at a church. I know.
I’m sorry. So sorry.
Jesus had it right and humans mess things up.
For me, going to mass sets a rhythm to the week – a rhythm of ritual and tradition in a community of believers and hopers.
Remember on Day 13, when Ezra was reading scripture to the people? Thousands of years later, we’re doing the same thing every Sunday. It just feels sacred.
We sing songs (not like yo momma’s church though) at Nativity. And those prayers set to music always make me cry.
Here are some bits from the Readings for today:
Isaiah 35:1-6, 10 “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.”
Psalm 146:6-10 “He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them – He remains faithful forever.“
James 5:7-10 “You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.”
Matthew 11:2-11 “…more than a prophet, he is the one of whom scripture was written.”
His fever was at 104 for 3 days straight. His cough had gotten worse. But when Joseph looked up at me and his eyes were crossed; we went to the ER. Joseph (then 7 years old) would stay in the hospital for a week and then leave with a tube coming out of his chest and a battle ahead. The next 365 days we spent traveling up and down Charles Street for medical appointments – Spinal taps, MRI’s, MRA, MRV, bloodwork, Ophthalmology visits… His brain was swollen, messing up his cranial nerve and crossing his eyes. His white blood cell count was through the roof. He’d lost 14 pounds, was working through brain fog and we kept going. An MRI revealed Joseph had 11 lesions on his brain. My boys brain was presented during Grand Rounds in neurology and they “couldn’t figure him out.” That’s when we switched to The Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia (CHOP).
August 2017
Pediatric MS or Spinal Cord Cancer. That’s what Jason and I were told. “Joseph either has Pediatric MS or a sneaky Spinal Cord Cancer. We’ve ordered a spinal tap, MRI and bloodwork to confirm and we’ll move forward from there. We’ll be in touch with the results.”
Let’s take a breath from the story for a moment and jump to present time. The message series at Church right now is “Ordinary Everyday Miracles.”
August marks the beginning of our own Miracle. And if I didn’t write about it, well, I wouldn’t be me and you wouldn’t know about it. The alignment of this series at Church plus the anniversary of our miracle is enough prompting for me to start typing.
Okay, here’s the overview Father White gave us and I love it. Looking at these 3 miracles, we see a progression for the Apostles (Jesus’ closest friends). At first, they get to witness a miracle. Then, in the Calming of the Sea, they are in the midst of the miracle. Next, the Apostles get to participate in the miracle of feeding thousands of people off 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.
Hearing all the different ways the Apostles had access to MIRACLES that happened right in front of them, for them, by them was beautiful because Jesus is offering so many ways to see him.
Reading all the different ways the Apostles reacted TO miracles with Jesus RIGHT NEXT TO THEM gives me hope. Matthew 14 verse 15 says they were irritated, verse 26 says they were terrified and didn’t recognize. In Luke 8 verse 24, they were freaking out, forgetting Jesus was with them. In Luke 9 verse 13, the Apostles were straight up sarcastic.
I don’t know where you stand with God or miracles. But, the fact that the Apostles fear and sarcasm and forgetfulness is written in the Bible reads like gracious encouragement from a big God. Doesn’t it? It’s as if God is saying, “Look, these ding dongs were right next to my Son and still didn’t get it. And they still freaked out. It’s ok. You will too. And, I love you.”
Our Miracle
Back to the story of our miracle… Terrified? Sarcastic? Freaking out? All of it. We were promised test results and an action plan in 2 days. But instead of 48 hours, we waited 2 weeks.
The doctor called to say, “Mrs. Smithberger, I apologize for the delay but we just had to make sure. There’s no medical explanation for this but Joseph doesn’t have anything. The 11 lesions, gone. His white blood cell count, normal. The swelling on his brain, gone. Even the marker for Lymes, gone. I had to go to hematology, oncology, ophthalmology, neurology to verify. There is no medical explanation for this.”
This ding dong was crying.
There is no medical explanation for our miracle. I still poke Joseph from time to time. I don’t want to forget.
Courtesy: Jenna Mace Photography
The gift of being in and going through something hard can be that you develop a new way to see things. Looking back and writing, for me, keeps my eyes open as I move forward.
Don’t miss your miracles.
You’re a ding dong too and God will stop at nothing to get your attention. And if you get freaked out, scared, doubtful – keep looking. You might be witnessing, in the midst of or participating in a miracle of your own. Look back, look ahead – God is there.
