God and Man

The end of October means one thing: the holidays are drawing closer. I can't believe Christmas is just a couple months away! I'm never one to jump the gun on holidays (ex: I refuse to decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving), but yesterday, I got to experience just a tiny bit of the Christmas season. And I was actually ok with it...

Two awesome ladies at our church have decided to film a nativity video using all the kiddos that attend our church. And, golly, is it gonna be cute! To get a head start on the filming and editing, they began the process yesterday. I got the opportunity to tag along and help corral all the little sheep and wise men and angels. And go buy them pizza. Even the inhabitants of Bethlehem love pizza.

Such chaos when you are dealing with 15 kids, all under 11 years old! We had sheep rubbing off their black eyeliner noses, wise men flipping their crowns upside down (making them look less like kings of the East and more like Spartan warriors), an angel who decided that wings were so "last season", a Mary who was slightly terrified to hold a real-life baby Jesus, and said baby Jesus who liked rolling out of his manger to eat hay. But somehow, it all seemed to come together. And somehow, I was reminded of a beautiful truth through children making the story of Jesus' birth---which I have heard countless times---come to life...

As the filming began, I stood in the background, smiling at the sweet faces and tiny people who were acting out what is, quite literally, one of the greatest stories of all time. I oohh'd and ahhh'd with the parents as we watched the scene unfold and all their adorable kids do cute things that will make the final product imperfectly perfect. I don't think there could have been a cuter baby to play Jesus. He's this sweet, happy 6-month-old with olive skin and a dark, curly ringlets on top of his head. He actually kinda looks like what I imagine Jesus might have looked like as a baby. And, of course, he did all the typical, adorable, uncooperative things you can guess a 6-month-old portraying the Savior of the world would do. Rolled out of the manger. Tried to eat hay. Crawled all over (and drooled on) the gifts from the wise men. And he naturally smiled and laughed the whole time. So so sweet.  

And as I watched all that, it suddenly occurred to me that he was probably not doing anything that the real baby Jesus wouldn't have done. Jesus was an infant, too. He giggled, He crawled, He drooled, He cried, He gummed Mary's shoulder as His first tooth threatened to break the skin, He slept snuggled up to her chest in the middle of the night. He learned to walk on shaky legs, and He got scrapes on His knees and elbows from falling on the dirt-packed floor of His Nazareth home. The only difference was that His tiny hands that often grasped His earthly father's finger also created the universe. 

He was 100% God. And 100% man.

I've never been able to wrap my mind around the Hypostatic union of Jesus. The fact that He was God and human at the same time is about as easy to understand as the concept of eternity or God having no beginning. Or math. But no matter how unfathomable it is, how much more comforting is it to know that the One who has the power to save us from sin and death is the very same One that knows what it is like to be like us? 

Hebrews 2 tells us "...he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." And chapter 4 reminds us "...we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and grace to help in time of need."

Wow. Our sufferings, our feelings, our temptations, our ups and downs are nothing new to our Savior. He's been there. He lived it. He never sinned, but He lived what we go through every day. He can relate. He understands. 

And He gives us mercy and grace. He loves us so very much.

Isn't it amazing that God could use a makeshift nativity scene with a handful of small children to remind me of one of His many deep, rich, beautiful truths? He's awesome like that. 

***scripture taken from ESV***

Next Year

Swirling leaves of oranges, browns, reds. A crunchy yellow blanket spread out across the park. A cool breeze with a dab of warm sunshine. Pumpkins. Apples. A warm sweater. A steamy mug of cider and a sweet, sugary donut. 

Ah yes...the sights, sounds, and smells of autumn. My favorite time of year.

I know what you are thinking, "Yeah, yeah, I know...you and eeeeeeeveryone else's favorite time of year, Jessica." But nay nay, I'm not like everyone else. I have absolutely always loved the fall season. Even when I was young. I've loved fall before it became trendy to love fall.   

Basically, I'm an Autumn Hipster.

There's just something about this time of year that makes me happy. Don't get me wrong, I'm never excited to see the hot, lazy days of summer come to an end or ready to usher in the blustery, cold days of winter, but the span of time in between the two makes saying good-bye to summer and hello to winter a whole lot easier to handle. I love apple orchards and hayrides, cool evenings and bonfires, picking the perfect pumpkin patch pumpkin (say that three times fast) and decorating our house with leaves and gourds, the rich and muted colors of the season, trying out every single 'pumpkin flavored anything' recipe I can get my hands on, and...dressing up for Halloween.

The actual idea of Halloween doesn't do much for me, and I definitely don't think of it as a holiday, and I really could even do without the candy, but anything that allows me to dress up and be someone (or something) else for a moment has my vote. That's probably the actress in me. If every holiday required a costume, every holiday would be even more awesome. Ok, who am I kidding? If it was culturally normal to dress up at least once a week, I'd be all over that. Even just a tutu. I could totally rock a tutu.

But, I digress. Really, I said all that to say, I think fall is too short. For that matter, summer is as well. Ok, really, winter is just too long. Especially for those of us here in the eastern Midwest. The other day I was pushing Lil' Man in his stroller through the lovely yellow leaves on our way to the park. It was every bit the quintessential autumn day. We rounded the corner where the sidewalk starts to slope down into this small area with concrete benches and tables. In the center sits an adorable little fountain (more like a glorified bird bath) of a little boy and girl surrounded by frogs and birds. On hot days, it's a welcome sight for sweaty little toddlers and ball-chasing dogs. But on this particular day as we rounded the corner, the sound of trickling water or the sight of a happy boy and girl didn't greet our ears or eyes. Instead, we were met by silence and a green wooden box. The joyful little fountain was closed up for the season. As we passed by, Lil' Man said something about "no fountain", and I nonchalantly said, "Yep, it's all covered up for now, but it will be back...<sudden realization> NEXT YEAR?!"

Whaaat?! In that moment, I was reminded how ridiculously long winter is. It will literally be next year before that fountain reopens. At least a good 7 months. *Sigh* I'm just not ready for that yet. The only thing possibly more disheartening than the impending long winter is that "MOvember" is also right around the corner, but that's for another blog entry... 

Well, the good news in all this: it happens to only be the middle of October, so I still have a few weeks of autumn left to enjoy. On that note, I'm going to sip this Pumpkin Spiced Latte my wonderful Hubs surprised me with at work today, gaze out the window at the changing leaves, and ponder my epic costume for this Halloween. Cheers to autumn!