On this 11th day of Christmas I’m celebrating the incredible surprising gift of quiet.
We received 10” of wet heavy snow early Monday morning and lost electricity at about 10am. (I’m writing this Monday night)
Since that time it has been wonderfully quiet. The only sound I hear right now originates from the flames and quiet hissing from this guy…
Not only did our trusty fireplace keep us warm, but was the place for grilling sandwiches (cast iron frying pan!) and heating coffee and boiling water.
So, that was fun, but it’s the quiet that is so beautiful. Very few cars driving by (our neighborhood roads are a mess), no heat pumps running…
It’s just quiet.
And dark…
I imagine this is what it was like in Bethlehem, when all the hubbub was over (you know… angels, shepherds, innkeepers, drummer boys, etc…. the Magi are somewhere in the desert, not even a quarter of the way from Babylon.)
It’s was just Joseph, Mary, and the new baby, now 11 days old.
Ponder if you can, our 11 day old savior, who is simultaneously the Creator and Sustainer of all the universe(s?) and a helpless human baby who basically just eats, sleeps and fills his diaper.
Diapers? They had to use some kind diapers in 4BC, didn’t they?
Why helpless? Because he lowered himself from Heaven (that’s the opposite of exalted BTW) to obey the plan of God.
On those quiet nights (like this one I’m experiencing) in Bethlehem, Mary pondered. Joseph pondered. They had some idea of the plan, thanks to the angels visits. But they could not know what we do.
How incredibly privileged we are to have the Scripture to fill us in with the things that they could not. How wonderful it is to contemplate how vast is the love God has for us.
Find some silence.
Ponder.
Exalt Him who lowered himself to save us.
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:15-20 ESV)
Soli Deo Gloria
kingdom travelin' 