I still remember the morning our son was born. Though the event occurred over a decade ago, I still have great clarity of that day – it is a time my wife and I treasure.
It was the “spring forward” day of Daylight savings time, and our doc had attended a rock concert the night before – forgetting to “spring forward” her clock. So, even though the birth day was planned several days in advance, Josh entered the world one hour later than expected!
Josh was born at 31 weeks, and would need to spend the first month and half of his life in the NICU at Children’s Hospital in OKC. Because of this, we had to play a “road game” . . . out of town and away from family and friends. Any visitors had to be invited and planned out. This meant that our birth experience looked a bit different than some . . . but it was still special to us.
This Sunday is Christmas Eve. On Sunday morning at Wildwood this weekend, we will be wrapping up our “Mary’s Christmas” series by looking at Luke 2:8-20. In these verses we are reminded that Mary and Joseph were playing a “road game” when Jesus was born. They lived in Nazareth, but Jesus was born in Bethlehem (a week’s journey away). Though Bethlehem was Joseph’s ancestral home, there were far from what was “normal” for them.
Even though they were miles from home, the Lord still planned some special visitors to see the new born baby. By special invite, shepherds came. By divine plan, angels attended. And through it all – Mary treasured all these experiences in her heart.
As we gather for worship this Sunday morning at 9:45 or 11:00 at Wildwood, we will treasure the birth story of Jesus and see how we are also invited to worship Jesus this Christmas season. Make plans to join us!
P.S. In addition to the 2 morning worship services we have this December 24, we will also have 2 evening candlelight Christmas Eve services with a living nativity (5:00 and 7:00 PM). Hope to see you both morning and evening this weekend!
Download all 25 days of our Christmas devotional in pdf or ebook format (for free) by clicking here.
I love that passage, that Mary treasured these things in her heart! Always reminds me to treasure people and experiences God blesses me with in my own heart!
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