Pastoral Ponderings—Thunderous Joy!
Merry Christmas, one and all! Don’t put away your Christmas cheer and music yet—even if the stores think it’s over, for us in the Church, Christmas runs through “the Twelve Days of Christmas” until Epiphany on Jan. 6, so keep on celebrating!
Christmas is always full of surprises and blessings of all sorts. One of those surprise blessings for me this year will keep reminding me of God’s presence throughout the year, especially when the storms come. Susan and Theresa, who have been one of our Flea Market and Craft Show families for some time, and who have been with us even more lately, wrote up and framed a beautiful poem that they gifted me with, called “All About God.” My favorite part that I’ll remember with every crack of thunder that comes my way, say “When it is thundering, He is jumping up and down for joy”!
Sometimes we can get a bit stuffy in how we understand God and His blessings—but thinking of God jumping up and down for joy is a good remedy for that, and reminds us in ways as powerful as the thunder that rolls throughout the heavens, how much God is our biggest cheerleader! Thank you SO much, Susan and Theresa for that great reminder that will come again every time we hear the thunder clap!
All too soon, we’ll but putting away the Christmas lights, taking down the trees and greens, putting away our Christmas reminders of God’s blessings for another year, and saying “why can’t it be Christmas all the year through?” But thunder can never be packed away, and it even reaches through the cocoons of our homes to share these reminders of God’s joy. Soak up the blessings of Christmas while you can—but fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of thunderous joy, that God’s grace can never be packed away! And as Jesus would say, those who have ears, let them hear the thunderous joy of God!
Keep being a blessing– Rev Jim