Invite God To Your Gatherings
"Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son." -- Genesis 18:14
The holidays are coming! The holidays are coming! Get out the tough exterior, bring on the extra tissue, put on the boxing gloves. All the family stuff is coming out again and it's bound to result in hurt feelings and angry exchanges.
I know. Just once I'd like a holiday season with no snide comments or jealousy-fueled emotions. I'd like to have that storybook gathering where everyone laughs and loves and gets along. It's fantasy. I do get that. But I've always loved to dream of how things could be.
I imagine that Sarah once dreamed about having children. As she and Abraham grew older, sadness probably rested deep inside her. She tolerated the comments and stares. It would have been much worse back them to be childless. More so, even, than now. Then God sent word that she would have a child in her old age. The Bible tells us she laughed. I can almost hear the bitterness in the sound. How cruel is it to promise someone something that is impossible?
Except God doesn't do that. He told Abraham and Sarah they would have a child and they did. God can do anything -- even mend broken families. I wonder sometimes if the reason he doesn't do it more often is because we're so busy trying to handle it ourselves that we don't ask for His help. Silly, isn't it? He's the first One we should turn to when things are out of control.
This holiday season just turn it all over to God. Ask Him to do more than just bless the food. Ask Him to be present during your gatherings with family and friends. Ask Him to mend broken relationships and heal hurt hearts. Ask God to touch the lives of everyone present and to draw those you love closer together. Trust Him. He can do it if you'll only just ask.
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