Let Your Hearts Be Light

A broken laptop. Still living in rent house. Missing school friends. Coffee spilled in new bag, staining beloved Little Women and writing book. Crochet hook lost. 

What do these have in common? They are all things that Satan could be using to try to steal my joy. They could be things God is using to teach me about not taking stock in material possessions. But one thing I know, in the long run they are all trivial. Looking back to think of my "poor me" list, I couldn't even remember half the things that had gone wrong last week. 

This couldn't have come at a better time and I praise God for it. Those "trials" helped me remember the main focus of this season and put me in my place. Here's my reasoning I've come up with for it: 

First, everything I have comes from God and is ultimately His. If He saw me becoming too materialistic, He has the authority to teach me a lesson. Second,  let's think about something for a moment. The Lord, King of kings willingly gave up the glories and riches of Heaven. Gave up His throne to do what? Be born in a primitive stable. Not even a small comfortable home. A stable. Born in a stable, surrounded by animals, to grow up in our dark world only then to sacrifice His life. I had to tell myself, "Elizabeth, He held nothing, NOTHING back from you. Surely you can offer to Him whatever He asks of you." 


Now that's not to say God asked me to sacrifice those things. Maybe He did, I don't know. But it did teach me a lesson. That if He did, I know I can- and should- joyfully and willingly. I also learned that Satan is still prowling around to attack. He wanted those little bumps in the road to ruin my week. He wanted me to throw a pity party and forget about joy. I wasn't going to give him points on his scoreboard though. With the power of the Holy Spirit I was able to grasp tightly to joy in Christ. 


Turns out, the broken laptop has led to me spending more time with my family, crafting, and reading. Still being in the rent house means a simpler, handmade Christmas. Missing school friends only means I'll appreciate them all the more when I return. The bag got clean, the book is still readable. On that note, when the coffee incident happened my Bible was in that same bag but saw no damage. For that I'm thanking the Lord. 


Friday afternoon sent thoughts of Philippians 3:7-8 swirling through my head, "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ" 

No, I did not suffer the way Paul did. I didn't even suffer at all. But I was encouraged to count all things as garbage compared to knowing the love of my Savior. 

In light of this, I hope this Christmas season finds you all well, dear friends. Let's look up to Heaven and rejoice in the best gift of all. Have yourselves a merry little Christmas and let your hearts be light, for Christ Himself said, " Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27)