Unexpected Love - Merry Christmas!

There's a little gray cat that comes to call but belongs to the people next door.  He comes and goes and often for days on end doesn't come at all.  But then he shows up unexpectedly, meowing at odd times to come inside for a cuddle and a play.  And he makes us smile.

And I'm convinced that this cat hears the voice of God.  Because even though he's not ours, he often comes at times when one of us is lonely or sad. Like late in the evening a while back after I dropped Steve off at the airport to go back to our other home for a while.  I didn't even realize that I needed a snuggle until there was a fuzzy warm bundle purring on my lap.

Sometimes God reaches out to us in unexpected ways.

We had visitors from overseas recently and enjoyed being tourists alongside of them for a bit.  One of the 'must do' (but that I hadn't done yet!) things of New Zealand is to go to the glow worm caves.  We watched a documentary about the worms first and learned that they're somewhat repulsive creatures that eat insects caught on strands of slime similar to a spider.  But, oh, what a beautiful thing they become when the lights go out! A holy hush fell over our boat as we floated along the underground river in darkness except for an entire night sky of stars on the ceiling overhead.  One of the most unexpectedly beautiful things I've seen in a long time!  A little display of his Creative Majesty that sat there undiscovered for thousands of years whispering, "I'm here.  I wait for you.  I think about you.  I love."

Cropped from a Waitomo Glow Worm Caves brochure

The untapped depths of all that He is.

Right now we're remembering the unexpectedness of a baby.  Sent to poor parents in the midst of a journey. The most important event in history came almost unnoticed except by a few shepherds and wise men who followed a star.

God with us as a helpless babe, born to show us how to live, then to sacrifice Himself for us.  What could be more unexpected than that?

"We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life."  (I John 1:1-2)

The Disciples saw Him first hand but we 'see' Him in many ways as well; in hard times through trials when we think we've been stretched beyond what we can endure.  Yet when we're beyond ourselves we find that He is there.  We 'see' Him in a hug from a child (or neighbor's cat snuggles!) or through lights in unexpected places.  We 'see' Him in a smile or in the peace that He whispers to our hearts and the joy that shouldn't be there when life is hard, but is.  

And then we can say with Job, "I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes." (Job 42:5)

He's there showing Himself to us in countless little ways, but it's up to us to recognize, acknowledge and SEE.

So during this Christmas season let's remember not to be too busy to see Him.  Let's take a deep breath and be still........

And let a holy hush fall at the unexpectedness of all that He is and all that He does-----and worship.