Is the Timing Right?

“But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” *

Signs of Christmas were popping up everywhere. It just seemed too early! We hadn’t  even celebrated Thanksgiving yet!

A few houses around the neighborhood were already adorned with festive holiday lights, while others still had inflated turkeys in the yard and autumn wreaths on the front door. A huge skeleton from Halloween remained in one neighbor’s yard. Ours was a neighborhood in transition!

“Have you seen any Christmas tree lots yet?” I asked Al when we were driving home from church one Sunday. According to him, there were trees for sale outside Home Depot.

“But those trees are going to be dried out completely for Christmas,” he said. “They’re a real fire hazard.”

An early snowfall covered everything in white, again very early for “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.” We were looking forward to going to Schuss Village in Northern Michigan to spend Thanksgiving with our son-in-law, daughter, and the family. Maybe it would be a white Thanksgiving!

Different outreaches for the holidays were well underway even at the beginning of November, one of which was filling Christmas stockings for children in a needy neighborhood of Detroit.

I was on the way to the Dollar Store to buy some stocking stuffers for the Christmas stocking project when I decided to stop at the pharmacy to pick up a prescription first. Instead of parking and walking inside, I drove up to the window, pulling as close to the building as I could.

After receiving the prescription, I inched the car forward aware that there was a metal box attached to the wall, but thinking I had cleared it. Suddenly there was an awful crunch. Inside, the clerk at the window had a shocked expression on her face.

I explained what happened, pointing to the box, but did not get out to assess the damage. She just shrugged as though it happened all the time and motioned me on. So, I went on my way to the Dollar Store, figuring everything was okay.

The store was in full holiday mode, its aisles full of Christmas wrapping, cards, candy, toys… It was easy to find things to fill two small stockings. Looking for something relating to Jesus’ birthday though was harder. Finally, two small activity books caught my eye… “Jesus Loves Me!” Perfect!

Later, when I told Al about the accident, we went out to inspect the car and discovered that the front left panel had a gash in it and had been unclipped from the car’s frame. I apologized, mortified at the damage.

He was very kind, accepting my apology and reassuring me by saying that he would take our car into the mechanic to see if it could be repaired easily.

 We drove back to the pharmacy to see if the metal box had been damaged as well. I had been rehearsing an apology to the manager of the store, including an offer to replace the box if necessary and was relieved to find that it was okay.

 It was a humbling experience, one that was a reminder of the reason why the celebration of Jesus’ birth means so much to me. When the angel Gabriel told Joseph that his fiancé, Mary, was going to have a baby and that the name of the baby was to be Jesus, he was pointing to the future role that their child would have as the Savior of all those who trust in Him.

“Jesus” is a form of “Joshua” which means, “The Lord saves.” Considering how easy it is to sin and how sin just seems to be a part of our human nature, forgiveness is a wonderful gift. But forgiveness, although free for us to receive, was costly for God to give.

He paid an unimaginable price by letting go of His beloved Son. The baby in the manger was to become the Savior of the world through His death on the cross. Forgiveness, deliverance and salvation are freely offered. Will we receive? Dare we not?

Yes, I am ready for Christmas!

*Matthew 1:20-21NIV