Sunday afternoon, the four of us carried eight boxes of Little Debbie snack cakes to Rod Library on UNI's campus. We've been talking a lot with the kids this season about why we are called to spread kindness and joy to others as we celebrate Christ's birth and recognize our part in His story. Nervous at first, we approached the library and encouraged the kids to hand out Christmas tree cakes to weary college kids studying for their finals. They shyly whispered sweet messages of "good luck on your tests" to smiling twenty-somethings and it warmed our hearts to leave and see dozens of college kids enjoying their treats. While they may have been nervous at first, Cruz and Mila became quite comfortable at the library by the end of our adventure, and pleaded with us to go back to Hy-Vee to buy more Little Debbies afterwards.
After a year of deepening my faith and digging into to what it means to live for Christ, I'm not surprised that this season feels different this year. There's still the hustle and bustle, the presents and places and trips to see Santa, but I'm more in tune with this quiet assurance of what's behind it all. My heart just feels more tethered this year, with less fear, more peace, and the still great joy of a Savior born to us.
In church on Sunday, I was reminded in the message that Christianity is one of the only religions out of literally thousands in the world where the God we believe in came down to us, His people, to live and experience the world He created as a human. As I was reminded of this truth, I realized how blessed we are to be born in this place, here with the truth of Jesus right at our fingertips. And yet, how often we go about our days and take that truth for granted. We get to believe in a God that is different than other Gods. Our God is a God who sees, who steps into our world, and lives among us. Emmanuel. God with us.
Monday morning, I brought the kids to school and drove east on Highway 20 en route of a few errands to run. The sun was bright, almost blinding, and Journeywoman's Christmas station on Spotify was playing beautiful music for my drive. And it all hit me. Struck by the wonder of a God who loved us enough to come down for us, to live with us. And as I'm feeling very thankful, singing and praying and probably looking like a weirdo in my car, I pulled up to a red light next to a Little Debbie truck. Of all the things. God not only loves us, but longs to involve us in building His beautiful kingdom right here in our midst.
On our last day of Thanksgiving break, we were blessed once again with temperatures in the fifties. It was an emotional day for me, for lots of reasons, and my spirit felt tender and uncertain. But knowing it may just be the last time this year we could be outside without coats on, we hopped in the car to go for a walk in the woods. As we drove down University toward Hartman Reserve, we felt the urge to check out one of our favorite prairies instead. We hadn't been since my birthday, when the grass was tall and green and full of life, and now, it was dried up and dead. But as we weaved around the paths, in and out of dead grass and prairie flowers that had grown taller than all of us, that prairie had never looked more beautiful. The sun was about to set and everything around us glowed. The golden light found its way through the spaces of all the dead, dried up weeds, and it literally shined. It was one of the most beautiful afternoons, where we breathed in fresh fall air, Mila ran ahead of us like the free spirit she is, Cruz had a stick sword fight with Beau and then helped me collect all the pretty stems for an arrangement to bring home, and I laid on my back and stared up at the sky. In the dead of winter, amidst the dried up stump of our hearts, God came in and seeped His light through the cracks of our souls. And the beauty that shone through could not be ignored.
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