A Christmas Without Fear

I won’t keep you long today, as we all know the busyness of the Christmas season and…only one more sleep to Christmas!!! ( I personally count down to Christmas Eve, sort of an Eason tradition that started with me, but for the sake of conformity I will count down here till the 25🙂)

Today’s post is also shorter because I am currently down to one hand. Yes indeed, I am writing today with my right hand, thumbing my way along. Short version: somehow I injured the nerves/muscles in my arm and its moved down from my shoulder to my left hand leaving me pretty much unable to use it.

So my lack of writing this month has been due to that, however you came here today for the blog not my medical status! 😉

People! What is going on with Covid?! It seemed like society was getting the upper hand on it, but yet another variant is back (worse than the Delta for its contagiousness) and now it seems we are in a tail spin.

The media has lost it. Mostly every opinion getting pumped out, “Will the vaccine work?”, “The booster will make a difference.” One article I read this morning from CBC News, “No, vaccine boosters won’t stop an Omicron Surge.”

I typed in Covid Fear into Google just now, and eight search hits in the news feed section came back; all having the word Fear in the titles: “Fear of restrictions.’ ‘Fear of workers leaving their jobs because of unsafe work environment.”

Fear.

An overwhelming expression of dread and worry, representing hundreds of thousands of people, maybe even hundreds of millions of people in the world.

Many people are afraid of Covid. Afraid of the unknown. If its for medical reasons, they are afraid of sickness and in some cases death. For others, it could be fear of financial loss due to unemployment or a business being shut down. Or maybe fear of being shamed and isolated for your personal beliefs and standards if you aren’t vaccinated.

There are so many people affected by this pandemic…but guess what-

You don’t have to be swallowed by fear!

Christmas is a time of joy and peace and celebration! At least thats what its supposed to be about. You see Christmas is about the birth of Christ: God coming to earth to save it, born to a virgin, angels proclaiming Jesus’ birth to common everyday folk, then wiseman (a modern comparison would be our greatest scientists and astrologers) following a unique star across countries to the very place Jesus was living.

Amazing!

But not everything was peaceful about this story.

Throw into the mix a blood thirsty, tyrannical king, Herod, who gave the order for all baby boys under two years old to be murdered by soldiers; in effort to stop the prophesied King and Messiah from living.

Honestly, as a father of four, I can’t imagine this…how horrible it must have been…

Then Joseph was visited by an angel, telling him to flee to Egypt to escape this dastardly plan by Herod. In the middle of the night, they fled their home for safety to an unknown land.

Can you imagine that? This Christmas, that you, right now, would flee your home and go to an unknown country, where you knew nobody because the leader of your province wanted to murder your child? You’d have the clothes on your back and maybe a knapsack, and with you was your spouse and an infant child.

This my friends, is the Christmas story, a condensed version mind you. Major highs and major lows. Yet there is Hope. There was always Hope throughout the trials and the celebration.

God with us. Through every trial and situation, God was there.

Google, Luke 1-2 and Matthew 1-2. Read this amazing story for yourself.

Today we are dealing with the Coronavirus: a virus that spreads, makes people sick and for some it can kill.

I do not put my hope in nothing else, but the power of God. Honestly with how everything is changing and really, it doesn’t seem to be getting better. Doctors and Nurses are amazing. Medicine and vaccines are meant to help us. But the bottom line is this: when the mutations come and the fear spreads at an alarming rate, and people start to change, remember that old, powerful hymn.

“My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus blood and righteous; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly trust in Jesus name. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.

This Christmas I pray that you will be blessed and stay safe.

Merry Christmas!

Christian