A Special Christmas

This Christmas will always be etched in my heart.

When I think about what Christ’s birth has done to my life, I realize that it was his birth, death, and resurrection that gave me hope, while lying on that operating table. It was those very events that played through my mind, wondering if they would become all the more real to me, wondering if I would meet my Savior? Such morbid thoughts during this cheery season, but it was those thoughts that have led me to such a deeper hope today.

A hope that I just can’t keep quiet about!

For all too long, I have put hope in my circumstances and not fully in Christ. For me, putting hope in Christ means giving the weight of my burdens over to Him. For me, putting hope in Christ means trusting Him when the floor from underneath me seems to be giving way. For me, putting hope in Christ means pursuing the very person who created me and learning to trust Him every step of the way.

A hope that is so worth pursuing. God cares about every detail of your life. Those details that sometimes make no sense. Those details that are so hard that you wonder if you can overcome them. Those details that give you such great joy that you can’t keep silent. Details that offer so much hope when channeled through God’s eyes.

For me, this is the hope that cling to. A hope not in my circumstances, though I often put my hope in them, but a hope that is worth far more than any earthly circumstance. A hope that says Kristin, I am worth every step and worth every prayer.

In thinking about Christ’s birth, I think about that star. I think about Mary. Joseph. The hope that was birthed that night. Promise after promise fulfilled. Promises proclaimed 100s and 100s of years ago. A hope that I want to keep giving justice to as well – a hope that was born to save the world. To save me. And you.

Dan asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I truthfully said, nothing. The question in and of itself almost made me cry. My life is more than I could ask for. A fixed and beating heart. His grace and His birth are more than I could ask for. Yes, a new shirt would always be nice or clothes for church, but when I start to think about what Christ has given me, it will make me cry.

So amidst the gifts in this coming season, I know even those too, I feel so unworthy and undeserving to receive. Each gift is truly a gift from God. But we can’t forget about the true gift of our Savior – one that will offer hope, when everything else has faded away.