Home for Christmas

Yes, Rodney and I are going home for Christmas. I admit, I am elated - overjoyed at the mere thought of seeing my family. In the emotional (hormonal) state of my pregnancy, I'm sitting here at the computer crying just thinking about it. Family is such a blessing from the Lord, and I am so thankful for the unconditional love of the family who bore me, raised me and still loves me in spite of myself. And I continue to be amazed at how much Morrie and Angie (my inlaws) love me as their own daughter. I am a blessed woman, and I can't wait to be with them as we celebrate Jesus' birth and remember all that is written of him in the Word.

I just got an e-mail from my brother Dan, and he tells us that it does not feel like Christmas in Kenya. He has struggled with health concerns the last six months, and it hasn't been the easiest time for him. I miss him. I selfishly wish that he was home. I wish I could give him a big hug and share in our joy as Rodney and I prepare to be parents. So if you think of him this Christmas season, pray for him. Pray that the Lord would give him unspeakable joy as he is so far from home.

I have this great yearning to be with my family - all of my family - friends that I haven't seen in months and years, grandparents who have since passed away to join the Lord in heaven and my Body of Christ in Peoria (who I miss dearly). This yearning gives me a sense of what it must be to yearn for something for which I do not understand, that I cannot see or touch or feel.

I've been studying the life of Moses this year in my BSF group, and this week I have been struck by Moses' plea to the Lord -- please show me your ways, that I may know you in order to have favor in your sight. (Ex 33:13), and later in the passage, Moses asks to see God's glory. What a request! God replies:

I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name 'The Lord.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom i will show mercy. But you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live. Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen. (33: 19-23).

God grant me a greater desire to know you like Moses wanted to intimately know you. I want to be found in you and known as yours. May I yearn to be with you, and may we see your glory with unveiled faces this Christmas and all days that you have marked out for us on earth. May I celebrate this season with joy and childlike expectation for what lies ahead.