The Miracle We All Need
They drag themselves into the attic or basement, pulling out their seasonal treasures to celebrate Christmas. They sometimes wish there wasn’t a holiday to think about. Yet, they hang onto the smallest thread of hope that a miracle will come for their family.
So, what is the miracle that so many parents long for? Some are waiting for their wayward child to come home or open the doors of communication again. Others hope that the program their teen/young adult entered in will be the “one” that delivers their child from their mental illness or disorder. Sadly for many, a parent’s prayer is that their child makes it through another year without overdosing on drugs, starving themselves to death, or going through with the plan of ending their life.
Christmas was always a holiday that I dreaded and loved at the same time. Every year, I felt this nostalgic air of celebration with hopes of a miracle and then sadness would overwhelm me. A song, a clip from a movie, or a word would trigger an emotional churning of wanting a unified happy family that I did not have.
Parents who have children who are hurting and struggling understand these feelings. A broken teen or young adult also has a broken parent who is pained by the many crises they face daily. They question where God is and ask, “Will we receive a miracle for our child this Christmas or New Year?”
God knew our lives, our children, and our hearts before we even existed. For such a time as this, a baby was born in Bethlehem. Jesus became and IS our Miracle. Matt Maher’s song – O Come, O Come Emmanuel, the words, “Take heart, oh weary soul, take heart, for help is on its way and Holy is His Name.” Our hearts have been weary. Oh, how we need help from our Savior this Christmas day.
Two thousand years ago, the people cried out for a miracle, a hope that they so desperately needed. Today, we cry the same for our lost and hurting child. We cry for healing for our families. We seek out God to deliver them. God listened even two thousand years ago. He sent Jesus, the MIRACLE from God, a gift to us so we can sing hallelujah for giving us the light and hope that redeems and saves.
Today, I hear a multitude of stories of healing, deliverance, unification, and salvation among families. Jesus was the light in their darkness, and the same for us today. Jesus is the rescuer, the pursuer, the true hope that families desire. He is truly All. We. Need.
The plans God has for our child have not changed. He is still working, even when we cannot see. Let us remind ourselves that God is NOT finished. Praise Jesus!
Let us proclaim the wondrous light of the world – Jesus! Even in the midst of pain, let us rejoice. You will sense God’s presence as you take joy in the Miracle – God’s Son, Jesus.
This Christmas Eve, pour your heart into the Word and Song of Christ’s birth and remember, Jesus is still on the throne.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 53:3-7 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
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