Reflections on Christmas 2020

To say that 2020 has been a difficult year is the understatement of a lifetime, certainly of mine.  We all have witnessed the unthinkable -- a pandemic that has changed our lives in ways we could never have imagined and taken the lives of those we know and love.  It is safe to say that most of the families I know have been touched by sickness, sorrow, and loss.  Ours certainly has, but one thing has not changed this Christmas -- the Savior whose birth we celebrate.  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Steve and I are celebrating our first Christmas as empty nesters.  Our son moved out in July, 2020 and our daughter moved back home to Tennessee Thanksgiving weekend.  Because of the pandemic we made the decision not to travel out of town, or even across town, to visit family for Christmas, opting instead for a quiet holiday at home.

Rather than buying for each other, Steve and I decided to bless our kids and those less fortunate, as generously as God's provision would allow.  Even though Steve lost his job in October because of pandemic-related downsizing God provided another job so that we would have the resources to give even beyond what we thought was possible.  We learned this year that it is truly more blessed to give than to receive.

Many friends and family lost loved ones this year, even as recently as in the days leading up to Christmas.  My prayers that God would provide the comfort and healing they and their loved ones need are coupled with the awareness that I will eventually face the same kind of heartaches that so many have this year.  It is not something I fear -- I know the heartaches will come -- but I pray daily for the grace and faith to meet those challenges in such a way that others will know Jesus truly does save and care for his own.

The year we thought would never end will soon be behind us. Sadly the days ahead don't look to bring any meaningful relief.  More than ever we all need to press hard into God because he is the only hope we have.  

God's word is filled with promises of his presence, peace, grace, power, and provision.  If you don't spend much time reading the Bible or talking with God in prayer, then resolve in 2021 to make doing so a daily habit.  It won't cost you anything but a little time each day -- an investment that will pay you the rich dividends of a closer walk with God and the peace which passes understanding.

Copyright © 2020-2021 by Dee Dee Wike. All rights reserved. www.deedeewike.com

Words of Hope for Hurting Hearts

One of the hardest things to do is to pray and wait on God to act.  When faced with a difficult decision, a challenging circumstance, a despairing heart -- it seems God is never in a hurry to make everything better for us.  That's because we look at things through the faulty lens of our human eyes, forgetting that God is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to his power at work within us (Ephesians 3:20).

Today I found myself despairing over things I cannot control and wondering if there is anything God would have me do differently than I am already doing.  As I sit here thinking about it all, I wonder why I spend so much time fretting about these things when I know that God is quite capable of handling it all.  No matter the scenarios that I play in my mind, only one thing ultimately matters to me -- being in God's will, even if at the moment it is a difficult place to be. 

Friends, when will we ever learn that God is good, his ways are higher than our ways, and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9)?  When will we learn that today has enough trouble of its own so we best not be anxious about tomorrow (Matthew 6:34)?  Will we ever trust that God's plan for us is a good plan, one to prosper and not harm us, to give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11)?

No matter how difficult things may seem, or how long the wait, may we learn to trust in the LORD with all our hearts rather than lean on our own understanding.  And may we trust him to keep his promise that if we acknowledge him in all our ways he will make straight our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).

I don't know what you may be dealing with right now but I do know that God cares deeply about you and the pain you bear in your body, heart, and soul.  He cares about your grief, as surely as he cares about mine.  This life is not all there is, and if you are his child, you already know that there is coming a day when "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:4, ESV). 

When you lay your head on your pillow tonight, thank God for his blessings.  God knows the way that you take and when he has tested you, you will come forth as gold (Job 23:10).

May we sleep in heavenly peace because God himself is our peace (Ephesians 2:14).



Copyright © 2020 by Dee Dee Wike. All rights reserved. www.deedeewike.com