And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”

Family is both the best and the worst part of Christmas. The presence or absence of our loved ones bring so much joy and so much pain, all in the same breath.

I am so beyond blessed to have three sides of my family when most people only have two. My mom and my dad gave me the Wyrtzen and Hewitt families. On top of that, I have my birthmother’s family. Three times blessed! That’s more than most people could ever wish for. And even though I am close to middle-aged, I love the feeling of being drawn in to the warmth of a hug by my mom and my dad. I will always be their girl.

So I’m thinking about Jesus leaving the warmth of His Father’s side over two thousand years ago. Perfect love. Perfect protection. Perfect peace. I wonder what the pain must have been like when Jesus chose, before the foundations of the world, to willingly come and die for us. He knew His Father better than anyone. Then one day, that perfect Father would turn His face away as His Son cried, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me!” He chose this, the worst of all heartbreaks, so that we would never be forsaken. Yes, He knew the end of the story, as do we. But that did not take away the pain of the thorns, the whip, the jeers, the nails, and the total, utter separation from all that was good. So if your Christmas is less than perfect, just know and understand that it was only meant to give us a “for-taste of glory divine.”

This is what God the Father gave us. Read this as if you’ve never heard it before. God gave us His son at Christmas to be rejected for us. So let’s give the praise and worship to the Father who gave the gift. Let ourselves weep over what the Son left behind for us.

Heavenly Father, I am blown over by what You gave up for us. You handed us Your Son knowing that we would mishandle Him. You knew that we would malign and murder Him. The love for us that would drive You to do that leaves me breathless. I love You. In Jesus Precious Name, Amen