During this Christmas season, what are your expectations.? Some of us enter the season with high and lofty expectations. Our magical memories of years gone by cause us to desire even more magical, sugar plum visions of a Norman Rockwell Christmas. A Christmas where everything is just perfect!<\/p>\n
Other people are dealing with heartaches in their lives that cause them to lower their expectations and it\u2019s all they can do to just have a little hope. Sadness about those who are no longer with us, or an over-burdensome amount of emotional, mental, or spiritual wounds that seem to fester even more at the holidays. We think about broken relationships. We wonder when our wounds
\nwill heal! Will anyone even notice I\u2019m hurting? When will I finally be able to overcome my issues? How can I return to a healthy relationship with my kids, my spouse, my God?<\/p>\n
Some people become very unhappy, even bitter or rude while waiting for circumstances to change. We aren\u2019t a patient people, are we? Sit too long at a stop light. Have someone need a price check while you\u2019re in line. Get stuck two times by the same train. Delays at the fast-food drive in\u2026Delays in getting that new job\u2026we\u2019re not a patient people, are we?<\/p>\n
My prayer today is for the downtrodden to not give up. Don\u2019t become cynical this holiday season. Don\u2019t become a Scrooge\u2026, don\u2019t become angry and bitter! Instead, can you wait with hope, knowing God loves you and really does want the best for you, even if that means you\u2019re going through a season of heartache and suffering. Would you trust, pray, and obey God until He brings
\nresolution?<\/p>\n
If you are losing hope, I would remind you of a man in the Bible named Simeon. God promised Simeon he wouldn\u2019t die until he saw the Messiah. So, Simeon waited\u2026and he waited\u2026and he waited some more. We don\u2019t know how long Simeon waited, but we can assume it was years! And he waited because he refused to lose hope in God. Simeon was patient. He hadn\u2019t become cynical and jaded. He\u2019s not an angry old man, waiting for the Messiah to appear. He keeps waiting and going to the Temple every day with hopes and expectations that he would meet God\u2019s Chosen One. He trusted God, and one day held the baby Jesus in his arms!<\/p>\n
Simeon shows us what it\u2019s like to wait on the Lord. When we\u2019re in those seasons of life which are a struggle, waiting isn\u2019t easy. Waiting for answers from the doctor, waiting for healing, waiting for a loved one to return home, waiting for that new job, waiting for the pain to go away.<\/p>\n
So, will we trust God by embracing the fact that God knows what He is doing and will heal our pains in His way\u2026in His time? Or will we trust ourselves to do it our way, and to hold onto our heartache? To own it, because we won\u2019t give it to the Son who came to bring us comfort and consolation? The Word tells us that God\u2019s timing is perfect\u2026right? I wish you all a blessed Christmas. Remember it\u2019s all about Jesus!<\/p>\n
It\u2019s so good to be your pastor!
\nIn The Lord\u2019s service till the last fish is caught, <><
\nPastor Chris<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
During this Christmas season, what are your expectations.? Some of us enter the season with high and lofty expectations. Our magical memories of years gone by cause us to desire even more magical, sugar plum visions of a Norman Rockwell Christmas. A Christmas where everything is just perfect! Other people are dealing with heartaches in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1365,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-connection-article"],"yoast_head":"\n