How precarious it must have been

Sunday School and carols sing about the birth of Jesus and the role that Mary played as the mother of Jesus, and of Joseph, at first not only skeptical, but clearly hurt and wounded by the thought of his bride getting pregnant outside of marriage.
The nine months of Mary's pregnancy is more vivid for me today with two daughters - my daughter-in-law Sarah now in her 40th week awaiting our next Grandson, and my daughter Lindsay in her 34th week with twins, a boy and a girl.
Over the weekend we got word that Lindsay had to be hospitalized with high blood pressure and a concern for a condition called pre-eclampsia. She's being taken care of in a hospital, resting, and having tests done to see if there is unusual amounts of protein in the urine.
As a father, I'm concerned, and happy she's being taken care of. Our son-in-law, Peter, is keeping us abreast of what's happening, but being 4000 miles away with an ocean in between makes it all very anxious.

So, I've been meditating a bit on God's decision to send his son across the universe to be born into a young virgin...no hospitals to care for her and her baby. The infant mortality rate must have been high. Sarah is "great with child" and hopefully soon to have their second, and ours, son/grandson. Lindsay is "great with children" and waiting to see if the condition is not severe, or whether she will need to have a C-section and early birth for the twins.

I don't know if the Father ever gets nervous, but I know I wait with prayerful hope and a bit of nervous desire to have it all be ok.

Jack Hayford wrote:

"That you came is a wonder to me --
That you came in a manner so lowly,
Came to earth to live; came Your life to give.
That you came changed all history.

That you came brought the glorious Word--
Son of Man, named Jesus, the Savior.
What a gift the Father gave,
His only Son He sent to save me.

That you came changed my destiny.
That you came is a wonder to me.

Comments

Wednesday, Day 25: Christmas Eve - God Loves Us (So We Can Relax)

For Kids: There’s a lot of things we have to do each day. Get up from our sleep, Get dressed, Eat Breakfast, Get ready for School, Listen to the teacher, play with friends, eat our lunch, and after it’s all done, go back home. There’s time to play, Then we eat our supper… And eventually we have to get ready for bed and go to sleep! And then we do it all over again the next day. Sometimes there’s a vacation - like right now - and we get more time to play, to have fun and not have to do work at school. Our parents are good at helping us know what time it is and what we need to do next – even when we don’t want to move on to the next thing. God is also good at helping us know what time it is, and what is next. He doesn’t shout at us, or yell, or even scream…he does it peacefully, quietly. He wants us to understand that he does it, most of all, for us. Christmas can be quite busy and there’s lots of things going on at once…but let us not forg

The Tabernacle

The readings today are Exodus 36, 37, 38 I wanted to post some pictures of what these various parts of the Tabernacle looked like. It's not the easiest read in the world, but if you persevere through it, you can get a picture of all the different pieces that made up the tabernacle. It is a replica of the various parts of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness: First thing in the chapter listed is the outside of the tabernacle which consisted of curtains tied together and put on cross bars through loops. Next at the beginning of 37 is the table and lampstand: Also, the altar of incense: And, the altar for the burnt offering which was in the courtyard: Finally, the courtyard which made it all come together: Hope that helps with what it might have all looked like. Most importantly, this was their "place" of worship they were building. I hope you have a great day of worship. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The difference between defending and explaining

The news of recent has focused the suffering of Christians in the middle east who have been martyred for their faith in Christ at the hands of Islamic Terrorists. Through the centuries many Christians have lost their lives as a result of their faith. For us, who live in America, there is little chance that we would have this happen here - but it's entirely possibly that terrorism will strike out at Christians sometime. But, for many Christians in the western world - especially here in the U.S. - being a Christians who believes God's word there is a form of persecution that is defined by words like "ostracized", "passed over", "ridiculed", and more. What do we do in the face of opposition to faith? When the Apostle Peter writes to the early believers who are undergoing great pressure, even persecution for their faith in Jesus, he gives them this charge. 1 Peter 3:8-18 8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly lov

Elliott's Muses

Search This Blog