Christmas Service
It is very hard to believe it is this time of year again. It is the time that lights decorate the homes that we drive by, and the time that most are out trying to get everything on our shopping lists purchased. It is a busy time of the year. In fact, I can’t think of any other time that involves the busy and frantic effort of so many people. It is a time that celebration abounds even in the preparations for it, as we anticipate the day of our Savior’s birth.
Before I get too far into this post, I want to announce that I’m going to have several Christmas theme messages this month. This is only the first, as I intend to cover a broad spectrum of topics. Although there are many who are bubbling with excitement, there are also many who are bound in sorrow, as the holiday only exaggerates the feelings of grief, loss, and heartache. For those of you in that position, stay tuned. I will have a very special post for you on Christmas day.
This year, I feel a heightened amount of business to get done. It isn’t due to taking care of shopping lists or turning the house Christmas lights on. Actually, due to my accident (and a little procrastination from my personality) are lights were already up. I get laughed at often that I have never taken the icicle lights down from the house from two years ago, and that it looks so ridiculous to have lights hanging through the summer months. The great advantage to my laziness though, is that I haven’t had to freeze my buns off messing with them for three seasons now, and that is a huge plus. I’m no fan of cold weather.
This year my wife and I were asked to direct a Christmas musical at our church. It was an honor that I wasn’t quite sure that I could handle, as I am still battling major issues with my brain injury. After talking about it together, my wife and I jumped on the opportunity because we have been really craving to be used by God in this capacity. Before we married, one of our goals as a couple was to write and direct a musical, and this was a perfect first step. To be able to use the creative nature inside of us to do something for the King was an awesome chance to also bond as a couple and minister together. Another blessing we greatly desired, was the opportunity to bond with our church body and get to know others better as a family of believers. It would be a dream in the making.
We started early, way back in September. We devoted our evenings to come to the church. We spent a lot of time figuring out how to take first time volunteers, and mold and teach them to be thespians. It was a lot of work, but it was incredibly fun and extremely satisfying to both of us. In some ways, it healed both my wife and I, as it was the first time we had the chance to minister to a church body in a very long time. It brought back a lot of our “old selves” as we had the chance to teach, lead, and support a cast and crew. Forming new friendships and strengthening existing ones was something that God was kind enough to allow to happen. For me, it was like salve on an old wound. Some people may look at what we are doing and the hard work we have committed to as something that weare doing or pouring out. Oddly enough, we are receivingequal blessing back in return. It is a mutual and symbiotic connection. God sure knows what He is doing.
Sometimes we have to go out on a limb and trust the Lord. If in fact He knows what He is doing, then we as children of God need to trust Him even when it might be an area of our lives that has past hurts or scars. That was an easy statement to type and a much harder one to live out. Many of us have scars so deep and so troubling that we feel petrified when God opens a door of opportunity to us. If the doorway of healing opens in our lives, and we think there is the slightest glimpse of something painful on the other side, we might relate it to what the past has bit us with so strongly we refuse to walk through. We can easily become locked tight with our feet formed fast in solid concrete molds. The fear of a repeated hurt might block the way for God to both use us, and heal us. We have no idea the blessings and benefits of obeying the Lord and taking that first giant “step” towards what His hand holds for us.
Both my wife and I have been directors before. We have been involved in plays that really touched lives and made lasting impacts on other people. Theater is a great passion we both share, as even some of our favorite movies are musicals. We both have hurts in these areas though too. Some of the hardships of our lives have come from the very places that we have ministered in. To be used in directing plays again would be wonderful, but facing the haunting feelings of the past would not be.
Regardless of what happened in a previous church setting, we decided to choose to step towards what God was doing in our present. We felt strongly encouraged that God wanted our time and effort, not only to serve Him, but to the church body. Serving another congregation is something we have struggled with for over a decade. It was hard to trust again. It was hard to believe in a church to once again call home. For years we were very hesitant to try. Even though it was hard for us to initially bond with another group of Christians, our obedience throughout this year proved to be a pathway for not only our own healing, but also served to unify the cast and crew for a single and greater cause much deeper than their own.
Last night’s rehearsal blew me away. To see how far we have come in such a short amount of time was truly inspiring to me. Not only did God take a group of people and instill in them the desire to step out of their comfort zone to put on a production that He can use, but looking at things from a bird’s eye view, my wife and I came a long way too. We received a tremendous amount of healing in our own souls. In light of all this, a very important principle comes to mind.
Isaiah 55:8-9
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
In moments that might stretch our faith, God knows what He is doing. In the times we are asked to go a little bit beyond what our fears might permit, God’s hand will certainly guide us. The simple point I want to make is this… God knows exactly how to walk you through life, ifyou allow Him. He’s not going to push or shove His perfect will on you. He’s a gentleman. He’s a good and wonderful Father. He will open up chances of healing to the soul and spirit that is humble enough to obey the still and small voice He speaks with. We might not understand every step that He directs us in, but trust me… the endgame is bliss. Is there something that God might be nudging you in? Is there a chance for service this Christmas season? Can you invest yourself, not only for your benefit but also for His? Is there a place of service that maybe you are the only person perfect for? Does God want to stretch you out of your shell of comfort to provide comfort for another? I challenge you to heed the still whisper of peace that He uses to speak into the heart. We are never sure what God has up His sleeve, but what He is planning might just be the most wonderful Christmas blessing you receive this whole year.
Just as we are seeing, you might just be blown away at what He does as well.
For those who are interested, the play is titled “The Gospel According to Scrooge.” Showtimes will be December 13 and 14 at 7:00, with a matinee at 3:00 on December 15. It is playing at LifeSpring Church in Greensburg, Pa.
Chuck Carr