DEVOTIONAL: Tis' the Season

By Leila Halawe

Christmas is almost upon us. Decorations are going up, carols are playing and Christmas presents are being wrapped and stored under the tree. It is an exciting time of year where we get to stop and fix our eyes on the miracle that is Jesus. It is a time when we can gather together and give thanks for the year that has been; the blessings and joys and highlights that were sprinkled throughout 2017. It is a time when we can sit with our loved ones and enjoy a meal and make new memories to tuck away in the corners of our hearts. Yet for some, it can also be an exhausting time of year. For some, Christmas is a time when family gatherings bring anxiety and weariness and fear of potential conflicts. A time when gift shopping and the expectation of doing Christmas right adds stress to an already tight budget. A time when weariness from working so hard all year seeps in and you are aching all the way down to your bones. For some, Christmas brings with it the knowledge that another year has gone by with prayers unanswered. 

If you find that Christmas has lost its glow in the midst of life, be assured that you are not alone.

It is easy to let the chaos and burdens of life get in the way of what Christmas is all about. I imagine that Mary and Joseph were both feeling weary and overwhelmed as they traveled to find a place to birth Jesus. While the bible doesn’t go into detail about how they felt, it’s not hard to imagine how weary Mary and Joseph would have been feeling as they traveled from Galilee to Bethlehem to complete the census that had been decreed at the time. It’s not hard to imagine the aches and pains they would have felt as they tried to find a place to settle so that Mary could give birth. It’s not hard to imagine the fear and anxiety and nervousness that Mary would have been feeling while Joseph tried to find a place to rest and deliver the baby. I imagine that upon walking into the stable, there would have been a sigh of relief to finally be able to get off their feet and get some rest.   

But then Jesus came along.

Despite the long travel, the fear, anxiety and weariness that would have been their companion, it all came to a stop when Jesus arrived. It all stopped at the sight of baby Jesus. Everything faded away as they beheld the face of the One that would save the world. The world faded away as they fixed their eyes on the greatest gift the world has ever seen, Jesus Christ. The birth of Jesus didn’t change what was happening outside; they were still in a stable, still under threat and still exhausted. None of the external factors had changed, but they had changed. They had stopped. They fixed their eyes on Jesus and they beheld Him and adored Him. And that is what we can do this Christmas.

We can stop.

We can fix our eyes and we can behold the gift of salvation that was so freely given to us.

We can let the rest of the world fade out as we make time to stand in awe and worship the Son of God that came for us. We can put the lists and plans aside and meditate on scriptures that tell of why Jesus came. We can set our hearts on Him in childlike wonder and give thanks for the gift of salvation that Jesus was and is. The turkey will still need to be cooked and the presents will still need to be wrapped and Uncle Jack will still be falling asleep in his soup over the dinner table, but let’s put all that aside for one moment and just worship. Let us intentionally stop and adore Him. And let’s remember that Jesus is the reason for the season and that only He can restore and redeem us. As we gather with our loved ones, let us remember that He is worthy of our praise and love and let’s thank Him for all that He has done, is doing, and will do. 

Leila (Lays) Halawe is a Sydney based coffee loving nonfiction writer and blogger. She has published a short devotional, Love By Devotion, and shares her views on life and faith via her blog page Looking In . You can connect with her via Facebook at Leila Halawe Author  and via Twitter at Leila Halawe.

An unexpected outcome

Early last year, I received a friend request on Facebook from someone whose name had been mentioned to me by a mutual friend. This mutual friend had given my new Facebook friend Jo a copy of my memoir Soul Friend for Christmas and she had apparently loved it. Jo and I conversed briefly via Facebook from time to time as she began sending me little comments about my weekly blogs and I soon saw we were on the same wavelength in so many ways. At one stage, she told me how, after reading Soul Friend, she decided to check out some of the books I had quoted or referred to there. Then from time to time, she would post little snippets she particularly liked from these on Facebook and I would always click the ‘Like’ button! It was uncanny how many of the passages she chose were my favourites too!

Recently, I read on Facebook that she and her husband had purchased a beautiful property in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney be used for holidays and retreats and had named it ‘Dadirri’. From the photos, I could see it was a large, tastefully furnished house, surrounded by trees and close to excellent bushwalks. Then just yesterday, Jo messaged me to tell me the story of how this beautiful home had become theirs and why they had chosen the name ‘Dadirri’.

It turned out that she and her husband had long wanted to buy such a property and make it available for retreats for those seeking to be quiet and be refreshed by God. Then one day last year, after stumbling across this house and noting it was for sale, Jo sat down to continue reading the book Lost in Wonder by Esther de Waal—one of those I had quoted in my own book Soul Friend. There she discovered the word ‘dadirri’, an Australian Aboriginal word for deep silence or ‘the open-eyedness of someone who explores where he or she has always belonged’ (p 43) and read how the Christian aboriginal artist, Miriam-Rose Ungummer, describes it ‘tapping into a deep spring that is within us all’. This confirmed to Jo and her husband that God intended them to have that particular property and that its name was to be ‘Dadirri’.

They immediately made an offer and the owners asked to meet them. Jo and her husband discovered this elderly couple were Christians and were having a hard time letting their beautiful property go. But on hearing that Jo and her husband were also Christians, the owners were overjoyed and the deal was soon done.

Jo purposely shared this story with me to show me how my little book had played such a vital part in her family’s dream of seeing a retreat house become reality. Through Soul Friend, she discovered Lost in Wonder. And from that book came the wonderful, meaningful name they chose—‘Dadirri’. A further lovely aside to this story is that my own dear ‘soul friend’ Joy, who inspired my book, lives in the Blue Mountains herself, not far from where ‘Dadirri’ is located!

May this story encourage and inspire you all, as you begin another writing year. When we commit our books to the Lord, be they fiction or non-fiction, God can certainly use them in wonderful and unique ways we could never ever have dreamt up in any plot!

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney but grew up in Brisbane. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of six published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and three grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com or www.soulfriend.com.au.