Christmas
Day
Hey
Gang – my error (Gma) Got these on wrong dates!
One that went out Yesterday was to be Friday and this one for
Christmas! Read the other one again on
Friday!
“For the Lord Himself will descend from
heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of
God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then those who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them
in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these
words” (I Thess. 4:16-`18).
Hey Gang: Well, Christmas has arrived for another
year. The frustrations that often come
with hitting the stores to find those special gifts has ended and instead of
feeling exhilaration for the day we celebrate, exhaustion has set in. The ‘joys of anticipation’ have been realized
by many but, perhaps, for some there will be disappointment.
Do you think
there might have been shepherds tending their sheep, that night when Jesus
arrived in that cave in Bethlehem and heard only of the miracle of that night
through the ever- present rumor mill? If
I would had been a shepherd that night and not invited to the visitation, I
would have been deeply disappointed.
Do you think
there might have been shepherds who heard the voice of the angels saying, “Go
to Bethlehem and see this miracle…” but said, “Oh, just my imagination!” and
passed up the opportunity to experience the greatest miracle of all time?
In the past
weeks and even months as I have received the sad news that twenty-three percent
of the American people interviewed listed themselves as “nones”, when asked
about their relationship with Jesus.
“None’s”, meaning they have no relationship with Jesus. That means on this morning across our nation,
there are twenty-three percent of our people who do not have a clue why they
are celebrating Christmas.
Many years ago
we were blessed to have a young man, who had failed at a number of placements, arrived
on our doorstep. It did not take him
long to show us why he had bombed out of the dozen or so placements. Oh, he tried to make us number thirteen, as
he proved there was no one or nothing that would change his attitude.
He thought
this turning your other cheek was a sign of weakness that could be exploited,
but the harder he tried the more he found something he had never experienced
before, mercy, forgiveness and love. It
was a joy to watch the very subtle changes begin to take place.
He wanted no
part of God and refused to go to Chapel! But, when God puts us on His Potter’s Wheel
and begins to cut out the garbage and trash that we have accumulated, you may
try to hang onto the old but you may as well give up!
The Thanksgiving
Season was approaching and we felt it was time to find out how deep and solid
were the changes we seeing in him. We worked
through the court for a home visit with his family whom he had not seen for
several years. A family that was very
well known to the community as bad actors.
The agreement for risking the change we had seen in the young man was in
no way unanimous but we felt we needed to test the waters.
The visit was
set up and Tom was sent home with his family for the first time in several
years for several days which included Thanksgiving Day. I waited with great anticipation for his
return to see if my confidence was rewarded, or did he slip back into his old
ways.
He could not
wait to tell me of the high point of his visit home. Eating together as a family was something
that never occurred in his home, but he convinced his mom that he would like
this to be an exceptional day. She
agreed. The meal was prepared, the table set, and the family gathered around
the table for the first time in many, many years. And then the miracle came! As all were ready
to dig into the food, Tom said, please wait, I want to bless my family and the
food. He said he had heard silence
before but never like that especially in his home.
My friends, we
have been truly blessed in our fifty years of throwing out a life line to
deeply hurting children and families and have seen many miracles just like
Tom’s. In our fiftieth celebration a
staff effort was made to seek out stories from many who have been impacted by
the Village and a collection of fifty stories from past campers, residents and staff
have been compiled. If you want a
special story to share with your family on this Christmas day, the stories can
be found at: eaglevillage.org/50stories.
From my bride
and I, we wish you a joyous Christmas Day and a fabulous, victory filled New
Year. Keep in mind ’Jesus is the Reason for the Season’ and He is going to
return for His children soon.
Blessings,
Gramps
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