“ But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” Luke 1:30-33 NIV
As I begin this day by running a marathon around a track to celebrate my birthday (and to collect donations for the Fostering Together closet), I will once again be remembering the morning of August 23,1999; the day I experienced a defining moment that caused me to live and view life very differently. I was 28 years old, the married mother of a young son and the Executive Assistant at a large home health company in downtown Rolla, Mo. The day began like most others. I came in, grabbed a cup of water and headed to my desk on the top floor to get to work. And that’s when I heard the crash and the squeals coming off the railroad tracks as the engineer tried to stop the train. Sensing something very bad had happened, I ran out of the building to investigate. Standing alongside my coworkers, I could see the car in the distance that had apparently been hit by the locomotive at an unmarked intersection (a court case followed) and pushed several hundred feet within our view. “Oh my,” I thought to myself as I fought to hold back tears. “That looks like Tammy’s car.” And, as I learned just an hour later, it was indeed my friend’s car. Tammy had been on her way to an appt with her baby in the backseat but never made it. Her husband was so distraught over the death of his 20-year-old wife that I took care of Kierra (by God’s grace the baby was not harmed) until he was able to do so himself. As you can imagine, this had a profound impact on me and still serves as a reminder that life is never guaranteed—knowledge that led me to make a vow to the Lord that day that I would be grateful for every new rising of the sun and would never complain about getting older.
And, you know, as we get ready to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, I can’t help but smile when I think about the defining moment that changed the life of a young Hebrew girl forever, and subsequently changed the whole world forever. Luke 1 gives us the story of Mary, a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. Seemingly out of nowhere, Mary was greeted by an angel and was greatly troubled at his words. “But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever; his kingdom will never end." Mary’s response? "I am the Lord's servant. May your word to me be fulfilled."
So, as we celebrate this Christmas, let us be bold in sharing the real Reason for the season my friend… the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who came to provide forgiveness for our sins. It was the birth that forever changed history and the life of every person who has placed their trust in Him.
Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us the greatest gift that we could ever receive, your son Jesus Christ. In light of all that his birth provided for us, help us to live lives set apart and on fire for You. And help us to be bold in sharing the true Reason for the season this year that the lost might come to know the One who is the greatest Gift that could ever be given. It’s your precious name. We pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!
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