In this vulnerable Christmas devotional for moms, Stephanie shares why Jesus's coming transforms everything--even when we are dealing with painful or difficult family circumstances. Be challenged to keep focusing on Christ to redeem trials and disappointments this Christmas.

As I sit here late at night.

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I'm wondering if maybe you didn't

need the episode we were creating.

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About a beautiful, yet

unique Christmas tree.

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And wrapping your packages . And

perfectly coordinated papers.

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As humble and helpful and

practical as we tried to be.

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Maybe you needed something else first.

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You see, I had a plan.

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We recorded a lengthy Christmas episode

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and we were going to release it in three.

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To four different parts.

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Throughout the month of December.

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And then just a few days before Christmas.

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I was going to share with you.

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A very vulnerable devotion.

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The Lord has put on my heart.

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I shared part of it a couple of years

ago in a blog post friend, trusted.

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And the Lord continues to build upon.

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This painful but much needed lesson.

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Christmas.

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Doesn't always look like we plan.

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like, we hope.

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But in all of it.

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Jesus is.

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Emmanuelle.

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And I'm happy to share that story.

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But to be honest, I didn't

think it would be tonight.

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You see, I've worked hard

for much of today on editing.

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Our episodes.

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I've spent much time, voice

leveling and making sure we're

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not talking over each other.

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And polishing and right before I

went to press the publish button.

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my edits disappeared.

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This has happened before and I've

worked into the wee hours of the night.

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More than I'd care To make

sure that we stay on schedule.

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So tonight, as I asked

the Lord what to do.

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I felt he was laying it on my heart.

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To remind us where our focus

should be this Christmas season.

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Before I share this story I just

want to acknowledge that my husband

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is not also sitting behind the

microphone, sharing his story.

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As I said, it's very late right now.

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And he's asleep.

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But he did give permission for this

story to be shared and it has been

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forgiven so I ask that you give him

grace while I share my perspective.

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When I listened to the

Trans-Siberian orchestra is famous.

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Christmas Eve, Siri, Ava.

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I had to look up the name,

but it's the one on the radio

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all the time around Christmas,

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you know which one I'm talking about.

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I have this image emblazoned in my mind.

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I picture a heavenly football

stadium filled with angelic hosts.

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The angels are bursting

with powerful praises.

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In the center stands the

Trinity and all their glory.

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They are facing each other, knowing it

is the last time they will be together.

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For quite some time.

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The countdown is on the music is

pounding, filling the stadium in

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anticipation of the redemption of mankind.

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The Lord Jesus is preparing

to leave his heavenly home.

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To do what has been promised

thousands of years before.

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The enemy doesn't understand what

is about to occur, but God is about

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to fulfill his promise to humanity.

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My heartbeat to my chest, as I imagine it.

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Oh, how I long to get to heaven and find

out what that moment really look like.

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It humbles and thrills me all at once.

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The anticipation of good conquering

evil in the most unexpected way.

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It is truly the most miraculous story.

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FOr me, this reality is more exciting than

any Christmas morning gift has ever been.

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I've always been that way.

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Even as a little girl, the candle

at Christmas Eve service was

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the time I launched foremost.

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To venture out into the bitter

cold, looking up at the stars.

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Imagining my sweet savior

coming into the world.

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And worshiping with my

family has been a moment.

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I treasured.

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I wanted to be like Mary.

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A simple faithfully young woman.

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Oh, God looked down at and was pleased.

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To step out in faith,

regardless of the consequences.

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To serve God.

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It's a beautiful example.

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Yet often.

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And frequently around the holidays.

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I find my diet itself attitude.

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Gets challenged.

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Let me take you back to my

first Christmas being married.

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Travis.

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And I got married in March of 2009.

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We lived right in the

middle of our parents.

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Mine were three and a half hours north and

his we're three and a half hours south.

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Because my mother-in-law's birthday

is right around Thanksgiving.

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We decided to go south to

my in-laws for that holiday.

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And then at Christmas, the plan

was to go to my house on Christmas

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Eve and Christmas morning.

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Then to drive seven hours south

to make it to my in-laws for

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Christmas dinner and presence.

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The plan seemed like a reasonable one.

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As we both knew we would be at

my in-laws the next Christmas.

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So there we were celebrating

at my parents' house.

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Having just gotten home

from Christmas Eve church.

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When Travis heard that a big

snow storm was on its way.

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He started nervously looking into the

weather report and discovered that a storm

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was possibly coming on Christmas day.

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To my horror and to the

confusion and shock of my family.

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Travis declared that we had to leave.

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He didn't want the snowstorm to impact

a center, a long drive the next day.

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Now I know a large part of my

new husband was concerned about

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putting his bride in danger.

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But I didn't feel protected at all.

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I privately pleaded with him

to just let us stay longer.

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Waited out a little, please, please.

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Travis.

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Can't we just stay here.

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I knew we would be safest right.

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Where we were.

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And my tears did nothing.

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To convince him.

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I can still remember hugging my parents.

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Goodbye.

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As I struggled to submit to my husband.

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The drive was a long, hard one.

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I don't remember much, but

I do remember my deep sobs.

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I could not believe that he

wouldn't listen to me at all.

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I felt like I had made a horrible

mistake, marrying someone who

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could overlook my heart so easily.

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And as luck would have it.

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The blizzard never came.

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And then somehow my husband, who usually

struggles to stay awake while driving.

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Had a burst of energy that allowed

him to drive through the night.

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And we arrived at his parents'

house early Christmas morning.

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We had a nice Christmas with.

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His family.

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They are wonderful and amazingly generous.

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And I loved them, but it

was not what I was used to.

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And my heart ached.

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My bitterness lasted much

more than that morning.

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And sadly adding salt to my wounds.

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That turned out to be my

father's last Christmas.

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We have to continually surrender.

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The many instances.

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Where our hopes do not become our reality.

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But what matters so much more than my

story, or then my husband's experience.

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Of this moment.

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Is Christ's example.

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And the hymn hark the Herald angels sing.

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The verse that's been standing out to me.

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This Christmas season is mild TLA.

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His glory by.

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Jesus.

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So willingly gave up

heaven to come to earth.

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Not for a quick rescue.

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But for 33 years of living on this

earth, he subjected himself to earthly

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authorities to constant misunderstanding.

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Discomfort and suffering.

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Pain and rejection.

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And when I feel I might be justified

to feel moments of bitterness.

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My Savior reminds me to mildly.

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Lay it down.

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That his glory is what matters.

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We don't need to fight for ourselves.

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We don't need to exhaust ourselves.

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To have a Pinterest where the Christmas.

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What we really need is

Emmanuelle God with us.

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Looking back.

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don't know if I took my tears to the Lord.

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I know, I pled to him to

break through to my husband.

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But I don't know if I

entered in with my savior.

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I don't know if I let him be God with me.

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There are so many difficult situations

you could be experiencing this Christmas.

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It might be your first

holiday without a loved one.

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It might be your 20th holiday

without that loved one, but the

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pain and the grief is still there.

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You might be fearfully anticipating

visiting in-laws that don't approve of

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you or perhaps they treat you unkindly.

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You might be bracing for the way they're

going to critique you and your parenting.

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And of course you already

know your shortcomings.

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And you just wish you

could spend Christmas.

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More peacefully somewhere else.

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might have a special needs child.

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And you're anticipating all of

the sensory issues and meltdowns

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that are going to come up.

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And are triggered by the lights

and the sounds and all of the

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stimulation that Christmas can bring.

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Your child might be in a wheelchair

and you're faced with the

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reality that you're very limited.

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Where you can celebrate.

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And you just wish you had more freedom.

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You or someone you love may have

recently been given a health diagnosis.

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That's threatening to suck all of

the joy from the Christmas season.

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You're trying to embrace the joy

of the holidays while wondering

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if it will be your last.

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You could be struggling financially.

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There may be job loss in your home.

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And you're wondering how you're

going to give your kids the

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Christmas you want them to have.

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You're stressing out as you analyze

what to buy them, and yet you don't

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want to pass on that fear to them.

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So you're putting on a happy face.

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Praying that the Lord would provide.

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Maybe you have a baby or a

toddler that still doesn't sleep.

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And the thought of decorating our tree.

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Or having a devotional is so exhausting.

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You just want to rest for a moment.

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Perhaps you're struggling

with infertility.

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And, you know, you're supposed to

rejoice every time you hear the

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words for, onto you, a child is born.

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Onto you, a son is given.

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But if you're honest, Your hardest

breaking because you just want

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to see a positive pregnancy test.

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Or maybe you've had the joy of

bringing children into this world.

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And now they're grown and one

of them isn't following Christ.

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You did your best.

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You truly try to point them to the Lord.

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But they've chosen their own way.

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Or maybe you're looking

back full of regret.

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And pleading on your knees.

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For them to be a prodigal.

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While it may seem like the

right attitude of Christmas.

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Is to enter with all

smiles and giggles and fun.

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It's okay.

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If you enter in with a

manual while grieving.

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While aching for a different reality.

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It's okay.

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If you stop the rapping presence.

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cookie making and trimming the tree.

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To be honest at the Lord.

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Uh, savior.

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Who surrendered so much.

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Understands.

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A savior who had brothers that didn't

even believe he was the Messiah, surely

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can understand pain and Nur family.

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can also look at Mary's example.

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though we know how she has

been honored in history.

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Let's not brush past the

shame that she surely endured.

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When I think about her example, I

wonder why I felt so entitled to

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be with my own family on Christmas.

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My earliest longings of being

like Mary and following God,

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wherever he would have me.

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How did I forget so quickly?

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That Mary wasn't with her

family on Christmas either.

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Perhaps she was still learning.

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She could trust Joseph with her heart.

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We know, she certainly couldn't have

been comfortable with her surroundings.

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And she definitely wasn't cozy on her.

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Gen-Z pretation.

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She was shunned by men and

almost completely alone.

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And then God did the

most beautiful miracle.

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The star shown.

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The shepherds came the wise men worshiped.

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Scripture doesn't tell us all of

the difficult moments Mary endured.

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we can focus on the

holiness of that night.

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That all of eternity was

changed in that moment.

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And the stillness of the stable.

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Emmanuel.

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Came to her.

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God was with her.

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And that's all that mattered.

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It's all that matters for

us to, and every trial.

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And every joy he is there.

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He is with us.

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Oh, Lord Jesus.

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Help us to take our eyes off of ourselves.

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And focus on you.

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Please give us families that glorify you.

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And help us to persevere and hope.

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Knowing that you are a faithful God,

that's drawing all men on to himself.

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We thank you that you are

Jehovah, Gyra God, our provider.

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We thank you that you are Jehovah, Rapha.

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God, our healer.

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You are the God who sees

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we thank you that our identity is

found in you and the regardless

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of how others may feel about us.

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We are accepted by you.

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Lord we ask that your joy

would be our strength.

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That even in the midst

of painful circumstances.

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That you would help us

to choose gratitude.

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And see the blessings before us.

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May we choose deep satisfaction in you.

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Maybe we choose with Mary to

treasure and ponder your blessing.

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Slurred.

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Instead of racing through the holidays.

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Over spending our budgets are

over decorating our homes.

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Thank you, Lord that you came.

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Thank you for your word.

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Thank you that bless it are those

who do not see any yet believe.

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Thank you for the opportunity

we have to celebrate in faith.

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Knowing what you did.

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Give us eyes to see our own sin.

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And be humbled and repent.

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And yet rejoice.

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Because the savior has come.

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Maybe we understand that

wonderful counselor is with us.

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Maybe we rejoice and the

mighty God and prince of peace.

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And may we trust you and your

goodness and our circumstances.

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Even as we struggle.

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May we join with the angels and

sing glory to the newborn king.

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Amen.