Christmas 2005


Thank you for visiting our Christmas web page. We here at A Friend In The Night seek to use both radio and the Internet to encourage others in their daily walk. Christmas is a time of Joy and Peace—at least in individual hearts even if not in the world. But it should also be a time of hope, especially for those to whom it seems there is no hope. My wife, Jerian and I understand that hopeless feeling. We both have come to enjoy the Christmas season (even if we don't always enjoy the rat race that surrounds it) but that has not always been the case. I have occasionally mentioned on the radio program that she and I have each been through divorces that we did not want. Those who have never been in that position cannot possibly know the hurt that floods the soul when that happens, but those who have been there know that it can be a time of deep discouragement and grief. The same could be said of a number of other unexpected and devastating experiences that seem to crush the life out of us. The church where my wife and I fellowship performed a Christmas cantata several years ago with the theme, Emmanuel, God Is With Us. The music leader invited us to submit poems, songs, and short stories to illustrate the hope we can have knowing that God is with us. Jerian submitted a brief description of the anguish she experienced and the rest that God gave her during one of those times.
	Christmas Presence by Jerian Powers The early January weather was frigid, snowflakes flying in the air. But the weather couldn't compare with the frozen bareness of my soul. I was returning to my house, alone, a house that had ceased to be a home. My husband's affair, my divorce, and recently the choice of my kids to live with their dad had stripped away the "Home Sweet Home". But the final deep freeze had come in the form of a message on my answering machine, " I've been watching you. If I catch you, I will kill you." Numb with fear, I had escaped to my friend's home in town. She urged me to stay the night, but I knew if I gave in to fear now, I would never return to my house. Thawed a bit with coffee, hugs, and prayers, I still lamented "What I need is a personal letter from God." Now after midnight with my thoughts swirling like the snowflakes, I drove the few country miles. As I turned to go up my hilly drive, my headlights reflected on something stuck in the snow. As I checked the mailbox, I picked up the item. It was a Christmas bulletin dropped "by accident" from the garbage pick up. The manger scene illustrating the birth of Jesus was labeled with this title: "Emmanuel - God is with us!" I had received my letter from heaven! The warmth in my heart melted my fears like snowflakes.
I find it interesting (and sometimes a little nerve-wracking) that God does not always give us that clear sense of His presence in our lives. One thing we can be sure of; He is always with us, just as surely when we don’t sense his presence as when we do. I’m sure you have heard the story of the Footsteps In The Sand. A man dreams that he sees his life before him as footsteps along a beach. Sometimes he sees two sets of prints as The Lord walks with him but during the worst times of his life there is only one set. “Lord”, he asks, “why, when things were hardest for me did you leave me to walk alone?” “My dear child”, The Lord replied, “those are not the times I abandoned you...those are the times I carried you.” Some of you have tasted the anguish of divorce and thankfully, some have not. However, all of us have had experiences or circumstances in our lives that cause us pain, embarrassment, or discouragement. In this precious season, as we close out another year, may I encourage you to do several things? 1 - Stop to consider all that you do have (food, shelter, clothing, more?) and give God thanks for His provision. 2 - Even if you don’t always sense His presence, consider where you would be if God had not chosen to love and watch over you, and give Him thanks for His kindness. 3 - Think about the disruptive things that you have seen on the news or that your friends have experienced and give God thanks for His protection to you and your loved ones. Even if you have had troubles, things are not as bad as they could be. Several winters ago I slipped on the ice outside and landed on my shoulder. It still aches sometimes but do you know what? The shoulder and the head are very close together. If I had turned over just a little more I could have hit my head and been hurt a lot worse. Truly, we live amidst pleasure and pain, plenty and want, joy and sorrow. But as we live in this Christmas Season may our hearts be keenly aware of just how much we do have, especially The Gift that God gave to all who believe on that ‘Silent Night’, long, long ago.
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