{"id":335,"date":"2018-12-19T21:34:46","date_gmt":"2018-12-20T02:34:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jared-kresge\/?p=335"},"modified":"2018-12-19T21:34:46","modified_gmt":"2018-12-20T02:34:46","slug":"christmas-reflections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jared-kresge\/2018\/12\/19\/christmas-reflections\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Reflections"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Christmas is a season of celebration, when we remember joy and hope and sing heartily of good cheer.\u00a0 However, as we draw near to the end of 2018, Jared and I are tempted to say, \u201cGood riddance!\u201d\u00a0 This has been a year we will always recall for its sheer quantity of trials.\u00a0 In years to come, we will probably say to each other,\u00a0\u201cRemember the year that started out with your mysterious virus that we thought was a stomach ulcer?\u00a0 And then remember how I had a cough that lasted for months and dislocated my ribs?\u00a0 And then Titus broke his arm and needed surgery?\u00a0 And then I slipped on my motorbike and Titus\u2019 foot got lacerated and he broke his leg?\u00a0 And then Ivan pinched off his fingertip?\u00a0 And then Gabriel fell and knocked out his front tooth and we momentarily thought he would have to have oral surgery?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>(Seeing the list in black and white like this, it almost seems laughable!)<\/p>\n

But there are other trials that will never be laughable, no matter how much time passes. Early this month, our littlest nephew was born and lived only a few brief hours before passing into eternity.\u00a0 Just yesterday, my snappy, spunky grandma of 96 years of age also joined her Savior, husband, and all the rest who have gone before.<\/p>\n

The pain of these latter two events is very different, of course.\u00a0 The one was sudden and shocking, and the sorrow of loss was debilitating for Jared\u2019s brother and sister-in-law, who for months had anticipated the joy of another child to hold and love and raise and\u00a0experience.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>They were fully invested in this baby\u2014physically, emotionally, practically\u2014their loss is all the greater for what they will miss out on in the coming years that should have been full of firsts: first foods, first tooth, first word, first step, first birthday, first day of school, first home-run.\u00a0 Instead, their first day with little Jedidiah also became their last, and now they bear the burden of heartache that inevitably comes from love and loss.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Grandma\u2019s death was a long, slow process, in which time we were able to prepare our hearts and joyfully release her to the full presence of the Lord.\u00a0 The pain of loss remains, but we can now rejoice in the many years of memories we hold in our hearts\u2014years in which we were able to know and be known, love and be loved by Grandma.\u00a0 Our heartache is great because of the years we have already been given to fully experience this person; we grieve because of relationships fully-formed and deep-rooted, which have now been torn up by the separation of death.<\/p>\n

While death at a ripe old age seems so much more natural (and is indeed much easier to bear for those left behind), we fool ourselves to think that it really is natural.\u00a0 Death and separation and pain and loss were never part of God\u2019s original design.\u00a0 Whether it comes after a single hour of life or after almost a century of ripe years, death is not what we were created for.\u00a0 That\u2019s why it hurts.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s why, this Christmas season, we are stopping to remember the joy and hope that Jesus brings to us.\u00a0 He came to redeem all the sorrow and toil of our lives and make it worthwhile.\u00a0 We are already anticipating the gladness of being reunited with our extended families next year after a 3-year absence.\u00a0 But imagine the joy of the great reunion that awaits all believers at the end of this life.\u00a0 This is the reunion that Grandma, Baby Jedidiah, and countless others are already tasting.<\/p>\n

In all the flurry and blur of a normal Christmas in the northwest, we pray that each of you takes time to consider those who are hurting.\u00a0 Take time to pray for them and encourage them.\u00a0 Share a little of their sorrows and lighten their burdens.\u00a0 At Christmas, we remember that Jesus became like us.\u00a0 As Emmanuel, He dwelt with us and shared in our trials and suffering before taking the ultimate burden of sin on Himself.\u00a0 May we all do likewise as we seek to be transformed into the image of Christ.\u00a0 And when we\u2019re tempted to wish away our trials and say \u201cgood riddance\u201d to a tough year, let\u2019s rejoice instead that we have a Savior and Redeemer who has gone before us and has already won the victory!<\/p>\n

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Christmas is a season of celebration, when we remember joy and hope and sing heartily of good cheer.\u00a0 However, as we draw near to the end of 2018, Jared and I are tempted to say, \u201cGood riddance!\u201d\u00a0 This has been a year we will always recall for its sheer quantity of trials.\u00a0 In years to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1082,"featured_media":336,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[448],"class_list":{"0":"post-335","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-ethnos360","9":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jared-kresge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jared-kresge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jared-kresge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jared-kresge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1082"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jared-kresge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jared-kresge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jared-kresge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jared-kresge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jared-kresge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jared-kresge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}