Update/Reflection on Christmas

Dear Friends,

I know I know, I just sent out an update and within a few days, here is another one! But I wanted to share with you that God really blessed our Ladies Christmas party and thank you for praying! We had the smallest space we ever have had for a party (I wanted to try something new and to be completely honest, did not have a great deal of faith for renting a big place). We rented a small Christian Café and decided to try it on a Monday instead of a Sunday and at 2pm instead of 3pm. I really questioned my wisdom on the café as it was definitely on the small side, but then I thought, well normally we only get 15-20 Ladies, so that should do.

Well I knew something was different, when I got to the café with my last shipment of stuff for Karaoke at 1:50 pm and there were already 23 Ladies! We ended up with 35 Ladies coming and had a tremendous time of fun, sharing (it was definitely cozy!) and presenting some life/direction changing opportunities for them in the new year. Many pulled staff aside to ask questions and talk. We’ll see in the new year how that translates out in life, but I think we are going to see some new Ladies make strides to come away from their destructive lifestyles in the new year. Keep praying with us and thank Emmanuel!

Reflecting on that; I hope this Christmas is an incredible reminder for you that Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. The other night I was recalling last Christmas eve and the days following after I had been hit by a truck and spent Christmas eve in an emergency room, Christmas day in great pain, then 3 more days in the SOS clinic having my punctured lung drained and three broken ribs medicated (probably not the most fun I have had at Christmas for sure! ). And obviously I am grateful to still be here, having the opportunity daily to cause the devil grief and sometimes unfortunately, co-workers too! But the more I pondered those crazy few days I am so thankful that Jesus is our Emmanuel.

Often in times of crisis, I have screamed out “Why is this happening to me?!” but through last Christmas, I have come to see Joseph and Mary’s first night very differently. Their Christmas was not fun nor entertaining, but very stressful (think of a pregnant wife about to give birth and no one will rent you a room and you end up on the streets and she gives birth in a cattle troth, ah no nurse attending…that spells STRESS to me!). It would be easy for me to wonder where is God in this and why has he seemingly abandoned me when all I am doing is trying to carry out His plan. But God was literally there (though in a sense, in a bit of a disguise; in a crisis, I don’t often think of God being present with me in a crying baby! That to me is more stress!). But He was present and their difficulties gave opportunity for the Shepherds who would never have been let into an Inn, to see and marvel that God was with them, for them.

From the time I hit the ground last year, I had an incredible sense that God was with me (ah, also an incredible sense of pain too!:-)). I was in incredible pain and yet had incredible peace. The next day, I had an expectation that God was somehow going to use this situation for His glory. Most of you know some of the things that came from that day, but for me a year on, I have come to understand in a whole new way just how completely fragile my physical life is. I have also come to realize how quickly life can change for us in a moment and from out of no where. This has not caused me to fear, but through this, I have come to a much greater sense of the reality that Jesus is with us; in all things, through all things and using all things for His purposes. I am thankful for Christmas as a yearly reminder to me that this is not just a nice verse, or a nice story, no, this is reality; Jesus is Emmanuel, in the midst of uncertainty, in the midst of pain, in the midst of tragedy. And I need the reminder as I easily forget.

So my prayer is that this year, as you reflect on Jesus during this season, you may experience in a new way, maybe in the midst of possibly very difficult situations and circumstances, that He truly is Emmanuel, God with us. This is the incredible good news of Christmas! Have a truly blessed Christmas and thank you for all of your support!

Continuing in His radical grace,

John