A Sharpie Reminder

A Sharpie Reminder

There was dried candle wax on the last pair of clean dress slacks in the closet, probably left there from last year’s Christmas Eve service. Not keeping up with the dirty laundry was just the most recent on a long list of complaints. Like so many others, I was exhausted from the grueling pace of the last month and still recovering from the viral crud that sweeps through the masses every year at this time. Not to mention being very unprepared for the holidays in spite of next day shipping from Amazon. And we’re definitely not talking about the bulletin that I printed upside down and never noticed.

The Whos in Whoville might have it figured out, but as a parent (even a Christian parent), I still fall prey to the lie that it’s up to me to make Christmas happen for my family. If I don’t get X, Y, and Z done, then everyone will be disappointed and the festivities will be ruined. Never mind the disservice that kind of thinking does for the next generation. Or that even our “worst” Christmas is magical compared to what some experience.

So, scribbling over the wax with a Sharpie highlighted for me something I’ve known most of my life, but forget. I am why Jesus Christ came to earth. Not because of a blemish on my pants, but because even though I’m just as good at the “fake it ‘till you make it” game as the next person, I don’t have it all together. I am sinful, broken, and helpless to do anything about it. I need a Counselor. A Healer. A Comforter. A Redeemer. A SAVIOR. Christmas.

We all do.

That is why the Messiah came down. He came to walk with us, speak with us, eat with us, weep with us, walk with us, and be with us. He washed feet, cooked, worked and taught. More than that, He did all these things without sin so that His sacrifice, without blemish, could atone for the sins of us all. He endured Hell, defeated death, and ended their rule over us. Then He left, not in abandonment, but to prepare eternity for us. With Him. He has made good on every promise to us so far. We have no reason to doubt that He will keep any of the rest of them.

I need that reminder every so often. Maybe this year the reminder will be permanent.

Stacy Christian