Friday, December 13, 2013

Advent

Original Photograph Sarah Fusaro Copyright 2013

When I was growing up, Christmas was a time of magic and steal your breath away wonder and excitement.

And now, as an adult, I still have that wonder but it's deeper and quieter. Now that we have children, my husband and I have been giving thought and prayer as to what our family Christmas traditions will be.

And one thing I hope that we will incorporate is advent.

One aspect of the holiday that I've been contemplating this year is the fact that Christ came as a baby.

The thing about babies is that they are fragile. They come into this world completely naked and vulnerable and dependent. Their entire existence depends on the mercy of those around them. They come empty handed. They give nothing and need everything.

That is exactly how the Savior of the world came to us.

It's also how He wants us to come to Him.

He came without pretense. He came without guards and walls and princely robes. He put on our flesh and our hurts and pains and fears and sought love. He was love.

And that babe grew up to be a man, the only perfect man, who willingly sacrificed his own life for the love of us.

And now, He beckons us to come to Him as He first came to us. Weak. Vulnerable. The only gift to give our hearts and our songs and our tears and our brokenness.

Christmas is a rich holiday. And yet we humans have turned it into a time of anxiety. Have we made enough food? Have we bought the perfect gift? Have we done this or that? I don't want to see so-and-so for they offended me.

No! The very best gift you can give others is your heart, unfettered and vulnerable and raw. That is what the Savior gave to us in that stable so long ago. He gave us the best of Himself and only Himself in the most real, vulnerable way.

And so on Christmas and during the season of Advent, as we wait the day that marks the entrance of our Savior to this world, may you find  rest. May your heart take a deep breath and know the Peace and Love and Joy that was the ultimate gift given to all of humanity. Rest. Know. Be in awe of the Creator of the Universe wrapping himself in the humblest, most fragile skin of humanity - for you. For me.

Put aside your quarrels and your fears and your fights. People don't love perfectly. Of course they don't. They're people.

But that's okay because we know one who does love perfectly - one who is love. 

You see, He came to trade our fear for peace. Our hate for love. Our tears for joy. Our pain for healing. Our death for life. 

He gave Himself to us completely with no pretenses.

As a vulnerable baby. 

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