Post-Christmas Encouragement

Christmas can be full of so much joy and deep sorrow at the same time. For some, there is a loved one missing from their family celebration this year. The pain is real. For others, illness has placed a severe damper on what would have been a wonderful time. I know some who abruptly had to change plans due to someone testing positive for COVID. Many are struggling with being alone, disappointed, or in emotional pain.

How do we navigate the holidays when we’re not feeling like we’re 'supposed' to feel?

Let’s look at a prophetic verse in Isaiah 9:6-7 for encouragement:

"For to us, a child is born, To us, a son is given. And the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father Prince of Peace.”  Isaiah 9:6

Isaiah described this newborn baby we celebrated just a few days ago as “all grown up.” He would be a government rule, and the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. Isaiah had been speaking to a discouraged Jewish community that was hoping for a way out of their darkness and gloom and doom. (Isaiah 8:22)  

As you consider your own personal challenges, take a moment and reflect on these names of Jesus.

Wonderful- Jesus is beyond wonderful and able “to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” (Ephesians 3:20) What feels too big in your life today? Would you believe Jesus can do anything? Persevere in prayer. Believe in God for big things in your life. Trust Him for what you don’t see today.

Counselor- Where do you need guidance? What are you unsure about? Where do you need wisdom? Jesus is your Counselor. Run to Him!

Mighty God- Exodus 14:14 says, “The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still.”  We all have times when we want to just take over and fix things. But we can’t. God can. Let Him. 

Everlasting Father- He is our Father forever! The Messiah will be a father, and His fatherhood will have no end. Where do you need protection? How do you need Jesus to provide for you?  

Prince of Peace- What hardships do you face today? What do you fear? We can ask for peace that comes from the love of God. It has nothing to do with our own strength or abilities or our circumstances. Jesus is peace. When we know Jesus as our Savior, He brings a peace that passes all understanding.

As we draw near to a new year, draw near to the One who freely gives so many blessings and life.

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio

O Holy Night

Spiritual Vitamin: "O holy night, the stars are brightly shining, it is the night of our dear Savior's birth. Long lay the world, in sin and error pining, Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices. For yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn. Fall on your knees, o hear the angel voices. O night divine, O night, when Christ was born." (Adolphe Adam, 1847)

Reflect: Consider the words of 'O Holy Night.' What do you think it means to "fall on your knees?" Consider the Christmas story. Engage in what it must have been like to many years ago to hear the angel voices and see the baby Jesus. He is worthy of our worship!

No Room

We all know what it feels like to feel unwelcome or not wanted. It’s not easy moving towards people when you sense they’re moving away. I would suggest that most of us have felt this feeling at one time or another.

God made us relational people. We hurt when we feel rejected, ignored, or unwelcome. The feeling comes in various shapes and sizes. If we don’t reach out for God’s help, we will do what comes naturally, and treat the other person with the same exact response. 

Jesus came to the earth to show a different way. We don’t have to judge others. We don’t have to reject others. We don’t have to distance ourselves from others. Let's turn to the Christmas story and consider what it must have been like for Mary and Joseph to be turned away:

“She (Mary) wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no room available for them.” Luke 2:4-7

I’ve wondered umpteen times what it must have been like for Mary, nine months pregnant, riding a donkey all night long. (I remember riding in the mountains of Colorado ten hours in one day and pretty near couldn’t walk afterward!) To top that off, Mary and Joseph found only a stable for her birthing room! Can you imagine giving it your all, for such a long trek only to be turned away? No room at the inn. Unwelcomed. Unwanted. Dismissed.

Yet, all at once, they found just the place! The place that most would never even consider as a birthing room. A place that seemed quite humble and yet smelly and dirty. Yet, it was the exact place where Mary would give birth to Jesus, the Messiah. God was right there with Mary and Joseph in their aloneness. He had a plan all along!

Jesus came to make room for us. He wants a relationship with each one of us. Some welcome Him in. Others do the exact thing we do to others. We ignore, hide, or are just plain act indifferent toward the Messiah.

Will you make room for Jesus in your heart today? Not just today, but every day. Give Him your distracted heart. Welcome him into all the stress, the chaos, the brokenness, doubt, and anger. He will run toward you with open arms.

Give Him your hopes and fears.

Give Him your pains and hurts.

Give Him those moments when rejection stings.

Jesus will make all things new. I’m so grateful Jesus made room for us in His heart.

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

Hopes and Fears

A two-hour dentist appointment isn’t the most exciting way to start the day. It didn’t take long for that dreaded sound of the drill to begin. Just for my curiosity, I learned that this fancy drill can reach between 90 to 100 decibels. Who doesn’t dread that sound?

It wasn’t too much later during my ordeal that Simba ambled up toward my chair. Simba is a service dog for a staff member at my dentist's office. This beautiful curly hair Golden Retriever was just what a hate-going-to-the dentist-gal needed! My anxiety seemed to melt away as I pet Simba. Simba’s presence got me through the uncomfortable procedure.

I think about all those people in the Christmas story. They had fears as well! The song “O Little Town of Bethlehem” is a song near and dear to my heart. Philips Brooks’ hymn reminds me of two realities with one simple answer. “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee….”

All of us have experienced fears, especially in the last few years. Fears of loss, fears of not having enough, fear of being enough, and fear of “If only” or “What if?” Where are our hopes and fears met? They are met in God.

So often, we “hope” for things to change, and THEN things will be ok. Things will be ok when my prayers get answered the way I want. Things will be ok when I get the job I want. Things will be ok when people change. Things will be ok when the medical issue is healed. Consider these verses:

“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.” Psalm 39:7

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God.” Isaiah 41:10

What are your deepest hopes? What are your greatest fears? I went into the dentist almost ready to become anxious because that’s so easy to do! Yet, my God was so good to remind me that I do not have to fear. My hope is in Him! He will see me through and be there right beside me, holding me close because I’m His child, just like all of us. Simba was that beautiful reminder that I am never alone in my fears.

This Christmas, consider the nearness of our God came to this earth in the form of a baby Jesus. Ponder the words of the song “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” May God rest your fears and give you His great hope this Christmas. He is near.

“O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by; yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light. The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary, and, gathered all above, while mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wond’ring love. O morning stars, together proclaim the holy birth, and praises sing to God the King and peace to all the earth.

How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is giv’n! So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heav’n. No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin, where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.

O holy Child of Bethlehem, descent to us, we pray, cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell; O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Immanuel.” Philips Brooks, 1868)

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

Bandwagon Fan

I guess I’m a bandwagon fan now. A bandwagon fan is defined as a sports fan who has shown no past loyalty to a team, and who only supports them when they are doing well. While people may not admit to being a bandwagon fan, there are ways to spot them. Today, I’m declaring I’m now a UTSA fan. I have now been spotted.

Friday night’s game was so exciting! I heard from fans attending that it was hard to hear anything when Western Kentucky had the ball. The crowd was out of control, in a good way of course. The Cinderella story of the University of Texas at San Antonio team is something most weren’t expecting. As a bandwagoner, I didn’t even think much about UTSA until recently. 

But they’re a force to be reckoned with. A record-breaking year. Smashing school records.  As the season has progressed, more and more attention and interest have been placed on this local team, not named the Spurs. Yes, I’m now a “Birds Up!” gal!

We go with winners, don’t we? So, why in the world would people be drawn to Jesus?

In Isaiah 53:1-3: “He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.” 

This is the One we celebrate this Christmas. This same One who was described in such fashion would probably not be cheered at a sporting event. This One was not born in a fancy hospital but a stable. This One who was not welcomed by many would soon be seen in a new light:

“For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

In a time of great darkness, God promised to send a light that would shine brightly. This message of hope was fulfilled in the birth of Christ. He came to deliver all people from their slavery to sin.

Why in the world would people be drawn to Jesus? “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) This is what the Christmas season is all about. Jesus is love and worth worshipping and celebrating now…and forever.

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.