You see, miracles and blessings can happen any time. You just need to learn how to spot them.
Questions That Bother
Regardless of your religious affiliation, most everyone knows the story of the first Christmas. They may not know all the details, and some may have doubts about veracity of the story.Some may disbelieve the virgin birth. Sadly, even some clerics openly state that followers are not required to accept everything in the Bible as factual.
Molding Religion in Our Image
Even those who have left the church in search of God still cling to many of the tenets of faith while rejecting the parts that make them . . . uncomfortable. It's almost like a child that eagerly comes to the family dinner and picks at their food. They eat the chicken and mashed potatoes but push the peas to the side."Seekers" as they are called are not necessarily unbelievers. They just want to create a new religion that allows them to live the way they want . . . without constraints.
Sanitized Christmas
The nativity scene in this post has been circulating on the web and social media for a while now. I don't know who created it, or why they chose to draw the picture this way.Perhaps it was to create a non-offensive representation of the birth of Jesus. By drawing a picture "without color" neither Jews, nor Arabs nor anyone of color would be offended.
But without Jesus it is just a shelter for animals. Just a simple barn with no real meaning or significance.
Evolving
The same can be said for those who want to change religion to fit THEIR style. Keep the "good". Discard the "bad".Life doesn't work that way.
The saying goes, that "Man plans and God laughs".
So true.
No matter how much we plan for our future, life get's in the way.
God, or life, or Mother Nature, or the universe has a way of telling you that life does not always go the way YOU planned.
You can live your life in a God-centered manner.
Or you can live it me-centered.
Your choice.
True Belief
From a personal perspective, this year has taught me that, no matter how much I want to BELIEVE I am in control of my destiny, I am not. Stuff happens. Things that I never expected, or planned for.Yet there it is. It happened. What comes next can be labeled as a coincidence . . . or a miracle. It is up to the individual to decide which one fits.
God had a way of reminding me that HE is in control. But at the same time, he also showed how miracles can happen right before your eyes. All you have to do is believe.
I DO believe in miracles. But I also know that sometimes I don't recognize them, until long after the event has passed.
Rachel and I faced some difficult times this year, but we also experienced miracles. Too often we missed the miracle until it had passed.
But that is the way life is.
We are so focused on what is happening at that moment that we miss the big picture.
The nativity scene is so focused on being non-offensive, that the true miracle is overlooked. The miracle of a baby that will become a man who forever changed history.
December 25th is a time for celebrating miracles and blessings.
But so are the other days of the year.
Peace and Blessings. Merry Christmas to all!