The Schelbs

Christmas is only a few days away! How exciting! I love that my tree is trimmed, my garland and stockings are hung, we have a bazillion christmas cards, and my holiday baking is complete. I love the holiday music, the hustle and bustle, the brisk air. I love seeing homes decorated in lights, wrapping presents, and so much more!

But greater still, I am thrilled to celebrate the birth of my Savior and Messiah! I am thrilled to have the opportunity again this year to honor the Prince of Peace to came to this earth as a baby, lived a "normal" life so that he could feel and know the heartaches and struggles I would face, and died yet rose again to redeem me from my sin! I will remember the amazing strength, courage, and purity of a teenage girl called to carry the Son of God. I will remember a young man who was obedient to the Lord, even when he could have walked away from Mary. I will rejoice that the angels announced Christ's birth to the most common of men, nomads surrounded by smelly sheep...doing their job, despite the loneliness of it all. I will rejoice that the magi came, despite the distance, to give Immanuel the honor deserved him.

Why am I so excited about the Christmas story? Because I have been Redeemed! Because my Savior didn't just say, you're saved; he came to this earth, lived a human life, wept and rejoiced, faced rejection, saw lives transformed, experienced disappointments and excitment, went to weddings, attended funerals, loved the hard to love, and then chose to die that I might live!

This year has been a rough year for me. But through it all, I can rejoice in the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. I can rejoice that Immanuel is here...He is God with me! So as I sing the carols, wrap the presents, look at the decorations and lights, and revel in this time of year, I revel in the Messiah, Jesus Christ!