Merry Christmas

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." -Luke 2:8-12

When you think about it, dirty animal feeding troughs and sleepy shepards are not at all the way you would expect the Lord of Lords and King of Kings to enter the world. When they imagined the coming of their Savior, most of the Israelites pictured a royal palace, a mighty king, and alot of fan fair - not a helpless baby in a pile of hay. But He came to adore not to be adored and true to form, all of the preconceived notions that humanity came up with for how God would show up were wrong. Sometimes I day dream about fantastic scenarios in which a big miracle happens and Riley is completely healed - like she just sits up and starts talking, or her trach magically falls out one day and she doesn't need it anymore. Of course God is capable of doing anything I am capable of imagining but if I have learned anything from history - chances are God is going to show up in ways I never imagined and completely blow me away. And that is what He has done. Over the past 10 months I have seen God show us His love, presence, peace, grace, and healing power in ways I could have never imagined. So rather than shrinking my expectations to fit my limited imagination I have learned to just pray and wait with no preconceived ideas about how God will show up, just faith that He will. In Luke chapter 2, the Bible mentions a devout follower of God named Simeon who "was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel." The actual Greek term used is "prosdechomai" which literally translates to "waiting forwardly." I think this gives the perfect image of being on your toes and being patient at the same time - exactly how we should all be in anticipation of how the Messiah is going to show up in our lives each day. Because of his patient yet eager expectation of the coming King, Simeon did live to see the Messiah. When he finally meet Christ, Simeon was an old man and Jesus was only eight days old - I am sure those are not the circumstances Simeon imaged but because he lived his life in faithful anticipation of seeing God show up, Simeon didn't miss it when He did. Simeon was able to look into the face of Jesus and he knew that the hope of his life had been fulfilled. So as we celebrate the miracle of God putting on skin and living among us, our prayer is that we (and you) continue to "wait forwardly" for how God is going to show up in our lives. We hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a blessed new year!

Love,
The Turner Family