Skip to main content

A Breathtaking Proposal


The sky grew black
as the eastern hemisphere  rotated into the darkness. 
Away from the light of the sun the night became cold. 
The hearts had grown cold long ago. 
Plunged into darkness by a wayward choice. 
A stretch for power beyond ourselves.
A taste had sentenced the generations to darkness of heart and
coldness of spirit that even the  warm morning sun
 could not drive away.

Except that night there was a rather brilliant star
intruding on the inky blackness. 
The  dazzling twinkle taunted its pale brothers in the sky. 
And it drew the eye.  Captured the gaze. 
And for centuries before there had been twinkles of light
that seemed to point the way. 
Signs of hope given in the midst of despair. 
The light of miracles and divine intervention. 
Dotting history, they had grabbed the heart and drawn the gaze. 
Illuminating the path and giving hope of what was to come. 
Of WHO was to come.

In the chill of that night a muffled scream tore the silence. 
Searing pain and groaning agony
never experienced by this innocent before. 
It rang out with a prophetic echo. 
Foretelling the future groans, the ripping torment, the soul searing destruction of His innocent flesh. 
To be laid down in sacrifice. 
His life blood hemorrhaging away that a world in darkness might
be born new.

As the minutes crept by and the intensity became suffocating,
the darkness looked on and tightened its grip
on the world it had held since the fall. 
But Suddenly. 
After hundreds of minutes…
after hundreds of years…
the moment was here. 
The push.  A breath and a cry. 
A tiny little innocent cry that flashed like a bolt of lightening ripping time in half. 
The darkness reverberated and a pulse of light cut through 
dimensions we cannot perceive.  
All of heaven rejoiced with a thunderous sound.  
And hell trembled with confusion. 

It had never been done before. 
And who would have ever imagined a love so great? 
What God leaves his throne to become a man? 
To enter the darkness in order to defeat it. 
For others.  For us.  For you.  For me.

It was unthinkable. 
This plan set in motion by that very first cry. 
That downy wet head cradled in swaddling clothes and
laid in a humble bed of straw. 
He had crowned and come in human blood
so He could be crowned. 
With thorns and His own blood dripping. 
So He could be crowned with glory
and take home His bride. 
To whisk her away from the darkness she was once captive to,
the darkness she had once chosen. 
To make her clean and new and beautiful and
take her home to His forever kingdom. 
Such a love story had never been written.

And all creation held its breath as He took his first. 
And then everything changed. 
God was sticky and cold
and there was no warm bath for Him or snugly soft blankets. 
No incubator or decorated nursery or baby shower. 
Just a filthy barn, the loving arms of two young parents, some smelly shepherds, and a suspicious and
scornful family to welcome him.

And we are no longer alone in our filth and our pain. 
The coldness of our hearts and the futility of our situations. 
He is with us.  Hope is here.  Peace has arrived. 
He has come for us.  To hold us.  To walk with us. 
And if we will let him, to rescue us with His love.

And perhaps now the King is holding His breath, to see if you will take your first. 
The first of a new life. 
His royal nail scarred hand reaching out for yours. 
No offer could be greater.  No proposal more breathtaking.

And in our hearts we will whisper “Yes!” 
And with our mouths let’s shout “Yes!”
This Christmas Day.
And every day after.
Let us rejoice!
The King has come for us!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Deafening Silence

In a single second my life has been radically altered.  My precious gift from God, sweet Makiah Kaitlyn, has gone to be with Jesus long before her time.  I know in my heart that she is happy, but my arms are so empty... my house so dreadfully quiet.  I feel at times that a horrible blackness has enveloped me.  I feel as though my insides are screaming.  I am clawing and fighting to break out of this torturous body- to escape from this oppressive reality, but I cannot escape.  The dark anguish leaps on me again and again.  It sits on my chest and presses against my very life breath.  My heart feels utterly crushed and broken- pummeled into a thousand pieces.  Life as I knew it has been shattered and the shards that are left are painful and sharp.  Cutting me as I try to walk through them.  This is the valley of the shadow of death.  How dark is that shadow! Her room is perfectly untouched.  All of the dolls in her dollhou...
Post a Comment
Read more

Toes

Outside the sky is grey and dreary.  I feel it should rain torrents today.  I think the whole earth should cry out in grief.  I feel my heart pounding in my head.  My eyes will barely open, and I think no more tears can possibly come.  Maybe I will stand in the rain and borrow the tears from the sky. I look down at sparkly pink toes, and they are lonely.  Makiah, our last Sunday together you spent the morning in bed with Mommy (because I am on bed rest).  We ate fruit loops and snuggled.  We practiced drawing your letters and painted our fingers and toes.  You wanted rainbow toes, but I didn't have the colors with me.  I promised I'd paint you rainbow toes later.  Once we were all pink you said, "I got an idea!  Let's put sparklies over the pink, and you have to do it, too, Mommy, so we can be twins!"  You are such a princess!  So pink toes became sparkly toes.  We giggled and hugged and admired our matching fe...
1 comment
Read more

Wells of Living Water

My eyes filled with tears when my mother-n-law told me of her friend's idea.  This sweet lady, whom I've never met, wanted to know if she could do something special in honor of Makiah.  She said God had put it on her heart to start a well project for her.  She would sell "living water well charms" through Operation Blessing International to raise money to build a well for underprivelaged children in a poverty stricken country.  She said when 600 charms have been purchased, a well with a permanent plaque would be built to commemorate Makiah's life.  Not only was this an amazing idea, it was linked to my daughter's heart in a way that shocked me... What this thoughtful lady could not have known was that only 2 weeks before the accident, Makiah came into the kitchen on a Sunday morning carrying her whole piggy bank.  She told me she wanted to take it all to "give to the kids who need clean water."  The preschool class at church had been raising mon...
Post a Comment
Read more