When a Child is Born
Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 1:53 pmA ray of hope flickers in the sky
A tiny star lights up way up high
All across the land dawns a brand new morn
This comes to pass. when a child is born
A silent wish sails the seven seas
The winds of change whisper in the trees
And the walls of doubt crumble tossed and torn
This comes to pass, when a child is born
A rosy hue settles all around
You got the feel, you're on solid ground
For a spell or two no one seems forlorn
This comes to pass, when a child is born
It's all a dream, an illusion now,
It must come true sometime soon somehow,
All across the land dawns a brand new morn,
This comes to pass, when a child is born.
Wait. it's not Christmas yet, and what does that have to do with Emotion Management??? Sit back, and I will tell you what this simple Christmas song has done in my life.
For years, "holiday emotions" had me in their grip. You know the ones....the mood swings from the euphoria of 'Hark the Herald' to the down in the dumps of 'it doesn't feel like Christmas because...'
"Why can't people act right at Christmas, and why don't they just do something nice this time of year, and I wish I had lots of money for this or that, and what will we do at Christmas dinner if Aunt Hattie and Grandma Mildred both show up...you know they hate each other......."
And some folks are alone, and others can't make it home, and yet more are in sorrow and grief..... there are more mixed emotions flying around this time of year than any other.
Yet they keep trying to sell us the idea that our Christmasses should be picture perfect, everyone smiling, happy and full of goodwill... if we will just buy this product or that gift. Are you sick of it already, and it isn't even that close? Are you waiting for it to be over?
If this is your outlook, let me refresh your view. Twelve years ago, this is where I was. I had been a christian for 6 whole months, and thought it would make the holidays so much easier and brighter.
Trouble was, I was still in the emotional dump. My feelings were wild still, and had a life of their own. I was still learning to read and absorb scripture, and getting the idea of how to apply it.
One cold evening, I was listening to the radio and going over in my head the things I felt about the upcoming holiday. (Yeah, even my mind was consumed with my feelings.) A song came on the radio that I had never heard before, and I began to listen to the lyrics.
'It's all a dream and illusion now,
It must come true sometime soon somehow,
All across the land dawns a brand new morn,
This comes to pass when a child is born.'
In that one last verse, God ministered a huge truth to me. One you probably know. It's about one thing. One. God echoed four words in my head again and again.
"A Child is born."
'Was born, You mean. Thousands of years ago....was born. I get that, God. It's about Him, not all that other stuff....it's about why he came...not gifts or problems or why I feel bad. It's about Jesus.'
"A Child IS born."
I was confused. God insisted, a Child IS born. What did He mean? My tools for answers were prayer and my bible. But I didn't really understand until I found a copy of the song.
A ray of hope flickers in the sky
A tiny star lights up way up high
All across the land dawns a brand new morn
This comes to pass when a child is born.
Each time I reach for God and meet Him at his point of faith.....a Child IS born...Jesus in me is magnified, and I move beyond an obstacle in my path----here it was my emotions.
They were keeping me bound in defeat, and spiritually stagnated. I couldn't move past them 'The holiday rut' had me snared. Rolling my problems over and over in my mind was strangling the part of me that held Jesus (at the time)....my head.
A silent wish sails the seven seas
The winds of change whisper in the trees
And the walls of doubt crumble tossed and torn
This comes to pass, when a child is born.
Each time I follow God, and seek His way of doing and being, a Child is born. Jesus is renewed within me and begins to change me, replacing my will with His. Doubts, fears and hurts fade away. I find peace in His presence.
A rosy hue settles all around
You got the feel you're on solid ground
For a spell or two no one seems forlorn
This comes to pass, when a child is born
Each time I choose God's ways and grasp a piece of God's knowledge, a Child is born. Jesus is glorified by my applying His Truth to building a foundation that will never shift because it is built on the solid Rock.
Looking to God for consolation and strength instead of indulging my emotions glorifies Jesus and helps me focus on what God is trying to do in my life. Each time I choose to change my outlook by putting my emotions under the rule of the Spirit, is a step further in my walk.
This walk is temporary. This is not our home. Whatever we think we suffer here, struggle with, or endure, this is not all there is. Our outlook should be towards eternity, we should have a big picture that goes beyond our current situation.
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." {2nd Corinthians 4:16-17}
Renewal is a constant thing. Though our bodies may be aging, our spirits are continuously being renewed in Him. A Child is born, God was saying, Hope springs eternal...Jesus is continuous. He never passes away. Over and over, He is born.
Jesus' season is a year-round season. Hope, faith and love know no time of year, they are forever and ever. Even more so, in eternity.
"It's all a dream and illusion now,
It must come true sometime soon somehow,
All across the land dawns a brand new morn,
This comes to pass, when a child is born."
A tiny star lights up way up high
All across the land dawns a brand new morn
This comes to pass. when a child is born
A silent wish sails the seven seas
The winds of change whisper in the trees
And the walls of doubt crumble tossed and torn
This comes to pass, when a child is born
A rosy hue settles all around
You got the feel, you're on solid ground
For a spell or two no one seems forlorn
This comes to pass, when a child is born
It's all a dream, an illusion now,
It must come true sometime soon somehow,
All across the land dawns a brand new morn,
This comes to pass, when a child is born.
Wait. it's not Christmas yet, and what does that have to do with Emotion Management??? Sit back, and I will tell you what this simple Christmas song has done in my life.
For years, "holiday emotions" had me in their grip. You know the ones....the mood swings from the euphoria of 'Hark the Herald' to the down in the dumps of 'it doesn't feel like Christmas because...'
"Why can't people act right at Christmas, and why don't they just do something nice this time of year, and I wish I had lots of money for this or that, and what will we do at Christmas dinner if Aunt Hattie and Grandma Mildred both show up...you know they hate each other......."
And some folks are alone, and others can't make it home, and yet more are in sorrow and grief..... there are more mixed emotions flying around this time of year than any other.
Yet they keep trying to sell us the idea that our Christmasses should be picture perfect, everyone smiling, happy and full of goodwill... if we will just buy this product or that gift. Are you sick of it already, and it isn't even that close? Are you waiting for it to be over?
If this is your outlook, let me refresh your view. Twelve years ago, this is where I was. I had been a christian for 6 whole months, and thought it would make the holidays so much easier and brighter.
Trouble was, I was still in the emotional dump. My feelings were wild still, and had a life of their own. I was still learning to read and absorb scripture, and getting the idea of how to apply it.
One cold evening, I was listening to the radio and going over in my head the things I felt about the upcoming holiday. (Yeah, even my mind was consumed with my feelings.) A song came on the radio that I had never heard before, and I began to listen to the lyrics.
'It's all a dream and illusion now,
It must come true sometime soon somehow,
All across the land dawns a brand new morn,
This comes to pass when a child is born.'
In that one last verse, God ministered a huge truth to me. One you probably know. It's about one thing. One. God echoed four words in my head again and again.
"A Child is born."
'Was born, You mean. Thousands of years ago....was born. I get that, God. It's about Him, not all that other stuff....it's about why he came...not gifts or problems or why I feel bad. It's about Jesus.'
"A Child IS born."
I was confused. God insisted, a Child IS born. What did He mean? My tools for answers were prayer and my bible. But I didn't really understand until I found a copy of the song.
A ray of hope flickers in the sky
A tiny star lights up way up high
All across the land dawns a brand new morn
This comes to pass when a child is born.
Each time I reach for God and meet Him at his point of faith.....a Child IS born...Jesus in me is magnified, and I move beyond an obstacle in my path----here it was my emotions.
They were keeping me bound in defeat, and spiritually stagnated. I couldn't move past them 'The holiday rut' had me snared. Rolling my problems over and over in my mind was strangling the part of me that held Jesus (at the time)....my head.
A silent wish sails the seven seas
The winds of change whisper in the trees
And the walls of doubt crumble tossed and torn
This comes to pass, when a child is born.
Each time I follow God, and seek His way of doing and being, a Child is born. Jesus is renewed within me and begins to change me, replacing my will with His. Doubts, fears and hurts fade away. I find peace in His presence.
A rosy hue settles all around
You got the feel you're on solid ground
For a spell or two no one seems forlorn
This comes to pass, when a child is born
Each time I choose God's ways and grasp a piece of God's knowledge, a Child is born. Jesus is glorified by my applying His Truth to building a foundation that will never shift because it is built on the solid Rock.
Looking to God for consolation and strength instead of indulging my emotions glorifies Jesus and helps me focus on what God is trying to do in my life. Each time I choose to change my outlook by putting my emotions under the rule of the Spirit, is a step further in my walk.
This walk is temporary. This is not our home. Whatever we think we suffer here, struggle with, or endure, this is not all there is. Our outlook should be towards eternity, we should have a big picture that goes beyond our current situation.
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." {2nd Corinthians 4:16-17}
Renewal is a constant thing. Though our bodies may be aging, our spirits are continuously being renewed in Him. A Child is born, God was saying, Hope springs eternal...Jesus is continuous. He never passes away. Over and over, He is born.
Jesus' season is a year-round season. Hope, faith and love know no time of year, they are forever and ever. Even more so, in eternity.
"It's all a dream and illusion now,
It must come true sometime soon somehow,
All across the land dawns a brand new morn,
This comes to pass, when a child is born."
