As a parent, I have many moments where I question myself a lot as a mother.
Does he really understand like he says he does? Why is he talking like he’s two instead of eight? One meal of candy and soda won’t hurt him, right?
With the Christmas season in full swing I have a whole other slew of things to question myself on. It can make one of the most wonderful times of the year one of the least enjoyable with all of the demands that seems to fall on top of us. As a mother, I want everything to be perfect for my family. As a person, I don’t want to let anyone down (teens in Awaken, my kids’ schools, etc.). As a follower of God, well, where do I stand with that?
Just yesterday, as my boys settled in after coming home from school, Brayden was watching a Christmas cartoon on television. I couldn’t see what he was watching, but all of a sudden I heard him say,
“They are forgetting the most important part of Christmas. Jesus.”
I stopped for a moment and thought about what he had just said. My child, yes, the eight-year-old that sometimes likes to talk like he’s two, said something so profound with a simple comment that I had to think on it more. His comment was geared towards a children’s television show. But in my heart I knew it was also meant for me to hear. With every stressor that I place on myself daily (not just during the holiday season) I tend to forget the most important part of my life.
My relationship with Jesus Christ.
It is so easy to let time with Him fall away as you shop for the perfect present and attend all the parties. And Christmas is not the only time we do this, if we are honest with ourselves. However, in a moment of an honest opinion everything had to stop and slow down for me. Am I remembering the most important thing to me?
The current series at Journey is another perfect reflection of how we view Christ in our lives on a daily basis. Is He our Redeemer who opens His arms to us when we cry out to Him? He is always waiting, always loving, and always present. Or, is He someone we give attention to only because it’s Christmas and, well, like my son referenced, that’s what Christmas is all about after all. Jesus is available to us year-round. We just have to make ourselves available to Him too.
It is my hope that you cling to your Redeemer this season. If you do, I promise everything else will fall into place.
Merry Christmas to all of you.
Stephanie Henderson
Student Pastor