UNCOMFORTABLE

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Good morning my DISPATCH/OFH family.  Christmas is coming! Love all of you so very much! 

You know, I have been offered the rare “opportunity” to live in the house I grew up in as a kid.  A lot of “less than favorable” circumstances led to that, but in recent years I have come to appreciate not just having a place to live but the familiarity of it especially at this time of the year.  From the moment of the first fall colors to the Christmas season, being “at home” is, we very COMFORTABLE.

Yet as I was thinking about “how comfortable” Christmas can feel when surrounded by the familiar, can you imagine just how “uncomfortable” the ORIGIN of Christmas was?

A scandalous pregnancy.  That couldn’t have been anything comfortable.  Awkward at best.

People whispering. The morality police making their judgements. Joseph’s buds questioning his judgment to hang in there.  UNCOMFORTABLE!

Then the census.  Really?  They had to think, now?  Now we must pack up and take a long trip?

How comfortable do you think that trip was?

We complain these days because they have reduced our airline comforts by shrinking the seats and the snacks not to mention pillows being at a premium. 

Can you imagine what their trip was like?  Mary in her condition? Not to mention she was so young. 

My parental friends think about trying to take more than an hour trip in the car with your adolescents.  And our couple didn’t have any IPADS or Switch’s to distract. 

And then they hit town, exhausted; Mary in contractions and no one has anywhere for them to land?  You’ve got to be kidding right?  And we thought the trials and tribulations faced by the fellas from Planes Trains and Automobiles was harrowing.

Uncomfortable doesn’t do the journey justice.

And that should enhance your appreciation for the OBEDIENCE and PERSEVERANCE of our main characters, Mary and Joseph.  They PRESSED on.  They didn’t waver.  They had both heard from the angel and regardless of challenge, they had an obligation to that prophet fella Micah and the rest of those revered prophets to get to Bethlehem and have this child.

Period. End of story!

And they did.

They weathered the MOST uncomfortable to brings us the ONE of ALL COMFORT and REST. (2 Corinthians 1, Matthew 11…)

So, think about that while you are experiencing the inevitable “discomforts” in the next couple of days; traffic, stolen parking places, missed sales, cramped aisles, and rude folks.

Then take a breath.

And thank GOD.

And then pause to remember our brave travelers who willingly weathered the most UNCOMFORTABLE of circumstances so Mary could give…

…birth to a son and name him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. – Matthew 1:21

I love you all!

Have a BLESSED DAY!

Opportunities for Hope