It is Christmas morning. Millie tapped my shoulder at 3 AM ready to get up and start her day. She was sent back to bed and fell right to sleep after a few tears (cue her threatening parents- “if you wake up your sister there will be NO PRESENTS” – we are all sleeping in the same room, you see). She is sleeping soundly, but guess who is still up.

I was just reading this and marveling at this experience we call life. It is so hard to capture all the feelings, all the experiences, all the emotions of even one single day. I guess I feel this very keenly as I am with my very large family. This past week, despite all the fun we’ve been having – I have watched as two couples in my family have suffered some very real disappointments and face some serious challenges.

We all face challenges. At times it can feel like they are more than we can handle. A few weeks ago I was looking through the Christmas cards we received this year – so many beautiful, happy faces smiling at me – but as I looked at their faces I was struck, as I considered their personal histories or current situations. Each one of them has known pain. Divorce, a child with a brain tumor, mental illness, being out of work, loneliness, self-doubt, rejection.

I guess what makes this time of year so poignant, is to consider – as an outsider looking into the lives of my loved ones and being aware of my inability to understand the breadth and depth of what each person goes through- the One who does. The One who hears our heart’s cry, who understands our racing minds, who knows exactly where it hurts, why it hurts and how to make it better.

2000 years ago He was a tiny baby. Think of it! All of human kind – all our hopes – resting on him. Even the sweet mother who held His little body in her arms, and who might have even been feeling overwhelmed by her  current circumstances, was dependent upon Him for her ultimate survival.

I love him and want to say how grateful I feel for who He is and what He has done for each one of us.

His magnificent, beautiful, kindly, generous, heart understands ours. He loves us. He knows us. He is always helping us – even when we have no idea He is there, and even if we don’t acknowledge it – His love is real.

I hope I can each feel it today as we celebrate his birth. I hope you can too.

Merry Christmas!