Unchangeable

Christmas Eve 2009

Change has been a significant part of my life. It is a fact that I continue to learn to live with and on many levels embrace. Change can be enlivening, like a breath of fresh air. But it is good to also have a few things in one's life that are consistent. Our family creche is one that I have had for over 50 years. I set it up as a child and now my daughter continues the tradition. The custom was to set up the creche immediately after Thanksgiving. But, with the advent of a daughter in college even this "tradition" has now "changed." It doesn't get set up until she comes home.

Carefully unwrapping each figure she decides where it should be placed. While the location of the creche has been different in each of our homes I cherish its familiarity and how year after year it is unchangeable. It is for me a symbol of the unchangeable character of Jesus. While the world around me spins, at the center is this baby, God incarnate, who came that I might have not just life but abundant life. That is his unchangeable gift that lasts no matter the changes that come my way. I haven't the fainest idea what 2010 will bring except the contancy of change!

May you know the unchangeable presence of Jesus this Christmas and throughout this coming year. Thank you for reading my meditative attempts and I pray that God has used them in some way to bring his unchangeable nature into your life. Blessings!