So This is Christmas by Susan Barclay

Last December Inscribe blogger Sharon Espeseth gave us a list of writing prompts. This month we've been challenged to develop one.

A friend recently gifted me a copy of Craig Groeschel's Hope in the Dark: Believing God is Good When Life is Not. I'm sure many readers have experienced the unexpected curveballs of life and can identify with the need to know that God hears and is trustworthy. For me, two of those curveballs are the prodigal wanderings of my young adult children.


 
So, this is Christmas this year. Jesus is no longer the reason for the season as far as my children are concerned. And while my daughter will probably always love the gift aspect, my son has come to despise the commercialism. My daughter has already sent me a list of gift suggestions; my son has simply said, "Make me something. Write a song, make some art." My daughter will probably send Christmas cards to her friends, and my son will probably create something for his girlfriend and the rest of us, but otherwise it seems that they don't care about anything - whether there's a tree or decorations, a Christmas Eve service, or a special meal shared with family. 

My husband and I have decided to make this Christmas what we want it to be. A friend and her husband celebrate the holiday with what they call "The Twelve Dates of Christmas." They've been doing this since early in their marriage and always kick off with St. Jacob's Sparkles. Some of their dates cost money, others don't. They try to serve in the community or bless others for at least two of their dates. I've known of their approach for a few years now and been wanting to replicate it. This seems like a good year to try. We need to focus on the joy of the season.

Several years ago I also heard about a 12 days of Secret Santa. In essence, you pick a recipient (preferably someone who is lonely or in need) and bless them over a 12-day period during the lead-up to Christmas. You make or buy small gifts, wrap, and deliver them without making your identity known. I plan to do that this year. We need to focus on the joy of giving without any expectation of  return.

My mom used to worry about our children being robbed of their "Christmas joy" - for example, if they didn't get to watch the Toronto Santa Claus parade on TV - but quite frankly, it's her joy I'm interested in seeing. Part of that involves putting up the Christmas tree, even if my husband and I have to do that alone. Part of it is sitting around the lit tree at night, enjoying the twinkling coloured lights and listening to Christmas carols. We'll watch It's a Wonderful Life; we'll attend a Christmas Eve service. Though we won't go hog-wild (and never have), there'll be packages under the tree to open on December 25th, and we'll cap the day with a lovely Christmas dinner where we use the "good" china. We need to focus on family.

Whether or not our children will listen or participate, we'll light the weekly advent candles, read the Christmas story, and thank God for His most indescribable gift. More than anything else, we need to focus on Him.

 2019 has been a challenging year, but as Groeschel says in his book, 

Jesus told us that even with just a speck of faith as tiny as a mustard seed, we can move mountains... And what if wanting to believe is enough? What if that tiny bit of barely noticeable faith is still pleasing to God? What if simply wanting to believe is the mustard seed of faith?

...do you realize that just a tiny bit of faith is actually extreme faith?

He loves you. He is for you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. He will never let you down. He may not do exactly what you want. But he is always faithful, no matter how much your circumstances may seem to indicate otherwise... No matter what happens in your life, the Lord is in his holy temple.

My husband and I recently had the chance to attend Times Square Church in New York City, and heard a song we'd never heard before. I know it's not a Christmas carol, but I hope you find the joy and truth in it.

Have a blessed Christmas.
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You can find out more about Susan Barclay's writing at www.susan-barclay.blogspot.com

Pressed to Pray by Susan Barclay

As moms and dads we do the best we can. We're limited by our personalities, temperaments, experiences, perceptions, knowledge (and probably a whole host of other things), but we love our children and as Christians it's our deepest longing that they'll grow up to love, serve and follow Christ. Unfortunately, no matter how well we parent (or even how poorly), there are no guarantees. Just like you and me, God gave our children free will, and ultimately it is their personal decision to make our faith their own.

It's been a couple of years now since our son declared himself an agnostic. We'd known that something was amiss - he'd stopped taking communion and spent a fair bit of his time during church services fooling around on his cell phone. I think my husband and I both hoped he was just going through a low phase, that he would wrestle things through - with God, with his youth leaders - and find his footing again. I don't think either of us challenged him. Our son is a thinker and can talk circles around us. Of course, if we'd trusted the Holy Spirit to give us the words...

Sigh.

Today our son identifies as an apathetic agnostic. If you don't know what this means, it's the view that there is no proof of either God's existence or non-existence and if there is a God, it doesn't matter much, since he seems unconcerned with the universe or its inhabitants.

You may be wondering how this ties in with this month's theme of obstacles and how God opened an opportunity through one. If we look at the dictionary definition of an obstacle, it is "a thing that blocks one's way or prevents or hinders progress." But I am going to use the thesaurus approach and talk about how my son's loss of faith was a hardship that God used to deepen my prayer life and to minister to others facing various life difficulties.

You see, I used to have the idea that although my family wasn't perfect, we were doing pretty well. Both of my kids were believers. We went to church together, they went to youth group and on retreats, we enjoyed engaging in theological discussions, etc. I couldn't imagine that anything could change that. I don't like to think I was prideful, but my obvious naivete suggests that I must have been. We all know the saying, "Pride goes before a fall." Not that it's all my fault, by any means. We all make our own choices.


When my son's faith derailed, it pressed me to pray like I'd never prayed before - with tears. It prompted me to begin an online prayer group that now has eighteen committed members. We pray for 3 members (and their families) each day, Monday to Saturday. We've seen some prayers answered and on others we're still waiting for God to move. We know God is working behind the scenes; we know His plans are good and that He's the giver of all good gifts. We do not walk alone. His timing is perfect as are His ways and we put our trust in Him, even when things look bleak. Especially then. We do not give up on our son or on other loved ones; we don't give up on God.

When people compliment my written prayers, I thank them then say I consider our prayer group a ministry. I do. God took hardship and turned it into a ministry of prayer.

"At night we may cry, but when morning comes we will celebrate." Psalm 30:5b, CEV

I'm looking forward to morning!
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Susan Barclay maintains a website at www.susan-barclay.blogspot.com. She is also the new writing groups coordinator for Inscribe.