Remembering the Struggle

Monday, December 21, 2015
George, Camille, Jack, and Clay Crawford

Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord; praise the name of the Lord . . . He lifts the needy from the ash heap . . . He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord! (Psalm 113: 1, 7-9)

Issac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. The children struggled within her; and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” (Genesis 25: 21-23)

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation . . . He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1: 15, 17)

Well, there are a lot of child birth references in those passages. Of course, during the Christmas season, the focus is on child birth, since the “reason for the season” is the birth of Jesus. How did Mary survive child birth without an epidural or without taking natural child birth classes? Rebekah in Genesis refers to the tough go she had with Jacob and Esau “struggling” in her womb. It is hard to imagine going through the physical and mental struggles that both Mary and Rebekah endured.

Of course, the miracle of birth is celebrated throughout the above passages. What we learn from the above is not only the miracle of Jesus’ birth, but also what it means to all of us. God gave us Jesus, his only Son, to “hold [us] together”. God blesses us with the gift of his Son so that we can see all that God does for us as God’s children. With this gift that God gave us, we are grateful and we celebrate this Christmas week by going to church on Christmas Eve, by listening to the birth story, and by singing traditional hymns as loud as we can (really loud). But, as we go through this week, we are reminded that we are servants of the Lord and should give of ourselves to others, especially those in need who are stuck in the “ash heap.” So as we begin the celebration, let’s remember to help others who need a hand in getting out of the ashes.

Prayer: Almighty God, as we begin the celebration of the birth of your son, Jesus Christ, help us to remember all of the other gifts that you have given us, keeping us ever mindful of the unmet needs that exist in this world every day. In your name, Amen.