5 Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
6 A voice says, “Cry out!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All people are grass,
their constancy is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades;
but the word of our God will stand forever.
Isaiah 40:5-8, NRSV
It was Christmas Eve at 10:30 PM, and I had just had it. Our boys (then 5 and 11) had been tucked in, Santa had made his visit (leaving me and the preacher with some all-too-confusing parts to assemble on some long-awaited surprises), the last stocking had been stuffed, but instead of beating with joy at the coming of Christmas, my heart was tired and frustrated. Perhaps I'd been to 1 too many Christmas functions (seems I remember only 1 night between November 28 and Christmas Day without a church activity or party) — perhaps I was experiencing the “sugar blues" at having comsumed too many helpings of fudge and Christmas cookies — but whatever it was, I was disappointed in myself for having completely missed the meaning of the Advent and Christmas event. I would have traded everything wrapped and stacked under the tree for one small portion of the ”heavenly peace” in the well-loved carol.
I remembered reading that a church out in the county was holding an 11:30 PM service with Holy Communion at midnight. “No one will know me there, “ I thought. “I can just slip in as a stranger and truly concentrate on worship. For just a moment, I won't have to be a 'music techer' or 'preacher's wife' — maybe I can hear a word from the Lord there.” My poor husband thought I'd lost my mind as I grabbed my coat and started out, all alone, in the freezing night air.
The drive through the countryside was peaceful. Frost covered everything, and the grass glistened in my headlights. I passed occasional displays of Christmas lights, and they were cheerful and bright. One leg of my journey was through an especially dark, wooded section with no roadside lights at all. In the distance, I could see a blaze of white lights which sliced through the pitch black of the night. It was a trailer in a clearing, covered in white icicle lights, with every bush and tree draped in hundreds of twinkling lights. The roadside seemed almost as bright as day, when suddenly — click! The timer the lights had been plugged into clicked onto 11 PM, and every light cut off all at once. The contrast was startling.
God spoke a clear word to me that night through a $2.50 electric timer. The world is full of trickery, especially as Christians prepare for the coming of Christ. We are fooled into thinking that WE have to do things — make all the parties, shop for all the gifts, decorate everything, cook for all the gatherings, send all the mailings — and then we are surprised when the big switch goes “click” on Christmas morning and it's all over, and we still feel an emptiness inside. No. no my dear fellow sojourners — Advent and Christmas have nothing to do with what WE do. This event is all about what GOD did. God saw His creation in need of a Savior, and He set events in place so that a young girl engaged to Joseph gave birth to a baby, and through this baby we could experience salvation, abundant life, and eternity with Him. Each year as we prepare for the coming of this salvation, we will be restored and renewed whether we do a single activity or not. Isaiah 40 states it plainly: “The Word of the Lord endures forever.” It was in this moment of revelation that I received a very special Christmas blessing, a blessing that endures to this very day.