A beautiful sunset splashed with multiple colors of red and white was painted on the horizon recently. My wife, Jan, and I, took a moment to ponder the beauty and comment on the wonder of God. After a moment, one of our grandkids remarked, “Oh, we see this at our house all the time.” Wonderful, I thought, and then said, “But never get over the wonder of it.”
We encounter miracles every day that we no longer really appreciate because they happen so often. Life itself is a miracle. The ability to think, move, eat, and breathe are all miracles. Family relationships are such a blessing, as are close friends at church and work. Be careful to appreciate every miracle – every blessing – even when it happens daily. Thank God for the hot water in your home, the mattress on your bed, and the food in your fridge. Blessings often come in small packages and are overlooked because they are so familiar. During this season of Christmas, pray that God would open your eyes to each miracle.
The danger of the Christmas season for those who have lived very long is that its annual appearance arrives with a yawn. The “ho, ho, ho” has turned in to “ho-hum.” Instead of staring in wonder at the nativity scene, awestruck with what God has done in Jesus Christ, we stare and wonder what we are having for supper. The miracle has become mundane and the once stirred heart has become cold. If this is you, look at the nativity scene again and stare at it as if it was the first time. Study the characters and ponder the Christ Child who came from heaven to take on the form of a person so that He could die on the cross for our sins. Contemplate the love of the Father who would send His Son to be the sacrifice for us. Meditate on the humility of the Son of God who would lay aside the glory of heaven to experience the pain of the cross.
Refuse to spend one more moment stuck in the mundane of the season. See the miracle through fresh eyes. Read the story to your kids or grandkids as if it was new. Rub your hand, as it were, on the wood of the manger, then slowly move to the wood of the cross. Never get over the wonder of it all!