After-Christmas Glow

We had a WON-DER-FUL holiday. It could only have been better if my little mister had not been sick. I so enjoy the cold weather, the decorating and baking, and the warm cozy feeling of bundling up under a blanket and watching the Christmas lights twinkle and glow. It's almost magical. I have always been mindful however, that there is a reason behind all of this fuss and that reason is Jesus. Having just returned from Israel a few weeks ago, this feeling was magnified a hundred fold for me this year.

Now don't get me wrong, the Mister and I did put up twinkle lights outside and wrap our columns with red garland turning them into giant candy-canes. We also put up a tree with tons of ornaments that I've collected over the years, and we hung stockings on the mantle. We even bought a few presents... the difference this year was a matter of the heart. Having visited the land where Jesus was born, reared, where He walked, taught, performed miracles, and where He gave His life for me and for you... I'm not sure I can put into words what that does to a person.

For some reason it seems this trip helped me come to a deeper realization of Jesus the man. It has been somewhat difficult for me in the past to grasp the God and man thing. I took it at face value and didn't question it; I just couldn't quite get that picture in my head. I can now.   

I'm not sure if it was visiting The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem where it's believed that Jesus was born, or standing next to 'The Gates of Hell' in Caesarea Philippi where Peter acknowledged Jesus as the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:13-20), or visiting Skull Mountain and the Garden Tomb where it is believed Jesus was crucified, entombed, and where He rose again... but somewhere along the way Jesus the man was revealed to me in a much deeper sense. He isn't a character out of a novel or an exaggerated depiction of a good man. God and Man, Holy and Human; He is our connection and our hope. How else could we relate to a perfect God?  

I am still processing my trip and still discovering ways that I have grown or been changed by it. I'm sure I'll continue to do that for a long time. All I can say for sure right now is that I am extremely thankful for the opportunity to visit the Holy Land and I continue to be amazed by God's goodness, by His faithfulness, by His unending love for us. I am so extremely blessed... so intensely happy... so completely soaked in love... so eternally grateful... that I honestly feel like I'm glowing.