Holiday Season: Recognize

What is God doing for you right now, today, the first day of Christmas break? How is God involved in the world around you, right now, today? How can I be involved in how God is acting right now, today? These are the questions of recognition.

In Advent season, the Christian tradition celebrates a God who is with us. We celebrate a God who remains active in the world, healing, restoring, rebuilding, renewing pieces of creation that are broken and hurting. So many times, God is doing these grand events in our midst and we fail to recognize and worship. So many times our eyes are drawn to the goals of our pursuits, or the downsides of the requirements, or the busy-work of the everyday that we don't look at the overall picture.

God is with us.

God is working all around us.

And God is good.

I don't know where all of you are involved with God's work or recognizing God's presence. I can only tell you stories of where that is happening for me. So I'll tell you some stories of where that is happening for me...

God cares for the widow and the orphan. We have a young lady (well, okay she is as old as I am, but that's still young, right?) who attends our church. We met her through the ministry of The Window in downtown Goshen. She has three young boys, all elementary school age that are a handful for her, as she is a single mom to them. Over the past year, we've been able to help her find a car, move into a new home, host a church party at her new apartment, find a job, pay bills, and many other things. As she has grown closer to us, we see God continually helping her see the blessings that she has and the changes that she has to make. We love her, we love her sons, God has given us a new friend and a new friendly face. It has also made me realize that God is interested in changing lives right here in my community and I am able to be a part of it. It is a humblingly big responsiblity, but it lets me know that God is at work.

Jesus loves the little children. Nothing reminds me of God's presence and God's blessing as much as my son. The way he has grown, begun to toddle around the living room, now walks all around the house holding his little basketball and singing to himself in a nonsensical language. In becoming a father, I have begun to see what it means that God is a father much better. I realize how I try to help guide my son, but ultimately Gideon makes decisions as to whether he will follow my guidance or not. I know that all my instructions and commands for Gideon are based on love for him, for example I don't let him play with the cord to the laptop computer because he might pull the computer down from the table and have it land on his head. But he continues to want to do it anyways because it is fun. And when he does, I have to continue to provide guidance. And God is doing this type of fathering, or parenting, with everyone. It makes me all the sadder to watch people making bad decisions because I now empathize with the loving Father who is trying to bless them.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Finally, God is at work in all my students and in all of my tennis players. I see it in you as you mature, as you learn to work hard, as you bless others. I see God teaching Austin commitment as he comes to workouts everyday, I see God teaching Seth leadership skills as he takes over some of the morning tennis sessions, I see God leading the seniors into the future, and them being serious about being Christ followers. It is a privilege to watch God work in all of you, and I can't wait to continue being involved. You are a blessing that I recognize is from God.

I pray that you will all take some holiday time to recognize God's work in and around you. Enjoy your first day of Christmas break!