I did an advent email devotional series this year for the first time ever. That speaks to how far I’ve come in my relationship with Jesus. My focus right now is to learn as much about Him as possible. I’ve been buying and reading the books, following faith based instagram pages, subscribing to email lists; doing all the things to keep me grounded in Him.

Its crazy that growing up in church, I’ve never heard of Advent, let alone people studying the books of Luke and Matthew during the Christmas season. Come to think of it, I don’t recall not one sermon that referenced the books of Luke/Matthew mentioning Jesus’ birth. I think it’s assumed that we know the story. I’d like to owe that unfortunate truth that many Black churches do not take part in this tradition. I think Black churches sometimes shy away from this story. I can guess why, but that’s a conversation for another day. We are focused on Jesus and His coming right now. And so, of course I looked it up, good ole Google gave me the details:

I typed in my search bar: what religions celebrate advent. I mean obviously it Christians, but which ones specifically because I’m lost! So google and AI popped up with this: Advent comes from the Latin adventus, meaning the coming or arrival. It is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity. It is a time to prepare and celebrate the birth of Christ and all that His coming symbolizes to the world. Google says that Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox Christians celebrate the season of preparation. I am none of those religions so that answers why I never learned about this as a kid/young adult.

I would like to think that all Christians everywhere would focus on the miraculous story of Jesus’ birth. The reason why we celebrate Christmas should be the focus, or at least something we acknowledge and remember during this time.

I read Hannah Breacher’s Advent email series this year; it was beautifully written and gave me all the insight I needed to learn more about the story of Jesus’ birth. I was very interested in Mary and her story as well. Becoming a mom is a very challenging experience for women, but imagine a girl, a virgin being told that this is her destiny. She accepted the plight of what came with her fate with pride & faced it courageously. But I’m sure she was scared. I’m not sure if I’d have accepted the news with such thanksgiving…I would have tried to back out. I would have questioned God…I would have begged to know why me!

There is so much to unpack and to take into account in the story of Jesus’ birth. So much goodness. So many blessings and miracles took place from the time Anne became pregnant with Mary, until Jesus’ birth, and of course during Jesus’ time here on earth.

The main factor that stood out to me in this story, is how God did all this, He orchestrated all this for us. For you and me. For all of mankind. The ultimate plan. The greatest love story. The most significant sacrifice was strategically thought out so that the Savior of the world would be born and die for us all to live freely on earth.

The beauty is in the details. If you’ve never read Matthew or Luke, now is a great time to give them both a read. I think I will read them again!

This story was told so that we all could know who He is. So we could see how much God loves us. He didn’t have to love the world. He didn’t have to come down to earth to live among us through Jesus. He wanted to experience being human. He wanted to feel what we felt. So that He could save us in the best ways we needed to be saved. God welcomes us all into this story. He welcomes us all to witness the miracle. He welcomes us all to get to know who Jesus was and is, so that we can know that our God knows who we are.

That truth was very evident in the scripture, the way all of Bethlehem was waiting and talking about the Messiah’s birth. How everyone came to see the miracle baby. And He still welcomes us today. The truth of His invitation still stands. There’s no RSVP date, there’s no expiration date. We are welcome to come to the Lord each and every day.

Time and time again.

Over and over again.

No matter what you are facing during this holiday season, He welcomes you. Bring all your cares to Him. Even here.

Even in the midst of loss. Heartbreak. Loneliness. Despair.

Even if 2024 has been a good year for you. Doesn’t matter.

In the good and the bad, give it all to God.

There’s a song by Elevation Worship At The Altar that I love so much, and it says:

We can bring it all to God. Every struggle, every circumstance, every blessing, every mercy, every tear. He wants it all. And the story of Jesus’ birth of this truth. We all are invited into His presence, into His story. Into the miraculous.

I’d like to think that the manger, the cave, the small dark space where Jesus was born was an altar for Mary and Joseph that night. They laid it all down while waiting for the birth. They surrendered it all to find a safe space for Jesus to be born. They gave it all to God in that moment and the moments leading up to His birth. Just imagine.

He choose Mary. He choose Jospeh. They gave it all to the Lord and were apart of the greatest story ever told. He choose us too. He will use us too. If we let Him.

I pray that we seek God and ponder on all He’s done for us this year. Good or bad, we made it. We’re still breathing. And there is a blessing in every circumstance. Accept Gods invitation into His plans for your life and sit back and watch how what He does in your life.

Merry Christmas.

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