Christmas

This Christmas season has been more than a little interesting for me. It has been my first Christmas season spent away from my family, the first Christmas at Compass, and the first time I have had actual 'time off' for the holiday.

Christmas at Compass was nothing short of amazing. It started by going caroling in North Omaha with a group from Christ Community. Walking around at night in these neighborhoods is less than advised, and walking around singing Christmas carols, knocking on doors, giving gifts and praying for people is far, far from normal. It was incredible to watch how God brought us to just the right house at just the right time, to see families come together to pray, wipe away tears from strangers who just lost a loved one, and watch a teenage girl come out of her shell and march boldly to each door with a grin and "Merry Christmas!" on her lips. Christmas is not always a happy time for many of our Compass kids. Some of them don't have anything, others are without parents or siblings due to the violence in this neighborhood. Last week I had the privilege of helping put together and deliver Christmas gifts to them. It has to go down as the best day at work to date... The smiles, the hugs, the little girls we met across the street we were able to give gifts to; it is no wonder Jesus said it is more blessed to give than receive. My heart filled to the brim, overflowed and still was bubbling when we got back to Compass.


As previously mentioned, this was also my first Christmas with actual 'time off'. I planned to come home the afternoon after I got off work, but as my last day came to a close I couldn't put it off any longer. I packed my dirty laundry with me and made tracks for home as fast as I could go. The family welcomed me with a "dance in the dark by glowlight bracelets", which was about as awesome a homecoming as one could wish for. I have decided time off that I get to spend at home is the best gift ever... We don't really have any Christmas traditions, other than we always do something interesting. From giant pillow fights to making donuts to starting additions to grouting a shower, we have always done something a little different than most on Christmas. This year I connived a few people into going on a 5 mile run/walk. I have been wanting to run on my old 'track' and I knew we could all use the endorphins... This is us, right after I burst through the door with a "Oh yeah, baby!!!" Side note: next year I am going to remember to eat regularly for at least 3 days beforehand though, so I don't have to tell Benjy what to do with me in case I actually pass out...

Spending this season away from my family has made for some highly pleasant surprises when I came home. One of the most enjoyable of which was the way these two young men stepped up and said they would do the after Christmas dinner dishes. Someone is doing something right, they are turning into gentlemen right before my eyes. Thanks again, guys!! A real man is one who is not afraid of dishpan hands any more than he is afraid of oil and grease...

This Christmas season has been a difficult one for me personally. God has asked me to do some painful things. I have cried more tears than normal for the holidays. A year ago I prayed asking God to teach me to love radically, recklessly, and with abandon. When we ask God to work on our hearts and then follow through with letting Him, He spares no expense. He does work. This year I learned a lot about loving radically, recklessly, and with abandon in a lot of different situations. None of which I could have imagined when I prayed that prayer a year ago. I learned a lot of things about love, one of which is that love comes with pain. In a dark moment a few days ago, the thought crossed my mind that love equals pain. But then a realization slowly grew into my mind. Love does not equal pain. Pain does indeed come with love, and the more deeply we love the more deeply we hurt. But love triumphs over pain. The more that I thought about it, the more I realized that is what God was saying on that first Christmas all those years ago. The world is a broken, hurting place. We feel pain when we love because of the fallenness of where we live. God looked down on this messed up, hurting world and gave the greatest gift ever. Love. And Love was greater than the pain. We feel pain when we love, when we hate, when we try our best, and when we don't even care. But God redeems pain with love. He takes our broken pieces, and if we let Him, shines through the busted places with His light in a way He couldn't before we were broken. Love is greater than pain. I know Christmas is supposed to be the happy, family, cheer and joy holiday. But I also personally know several people spending today without the people they love for one reason or another, and the pain filling their hearts is real. Nothing I write here can make it go away. But as a good friend of mine once said, God, not time or anything else, is what heals. It is just another way of saying the same thing. Love. Is. Greater. Than. Pain. No matter what your pain might be this Christmas, I pray you are able to look to the Love that is greater. Merry Christmas!