Every year Kevin asks God to show him something new about the Christmas story of Jesus' birth. While I admire his desire to learn something new each year, I have always been a bit skeptical that there is anything new to learn in something you've heard for 43 years! Well this year I have been proven 100% wrong!!! Last Sunday at church and again last evening at my staff Christmas party, I listened as Kevin discussed with people Luke 2:8-10 and I LEARNED SOMETHING NEW and SOMETHING THAT TOTALLY APPLIES TO MY LIFE RIGHT NOW!!!!!! I love when that happens!!! Here's the scripture and then I'll tell you what I learned.
Luke 2:8-10
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid......"
So, here were these shepherds just living their everyday, ho-hum, normal, old lives, doing what they always did, watching sheep. All of the sudden, out of the blue, up in the sky appears an angel! And not only that, but the glory of the Lord shone around them! Talk about shocking! It says that they were terrified...no kidding! But the angel said to them 'do not be afraid'. What words of comfort! I'm sure they needed desperately to hear that. They went from living in their small, comfortable world to being placed into a much, much bigger, unknown 'God' picture.
Well, here us Nichol's were living our ordinary, everday, lives in beautiful Peachland, surrounded by people and places and situations that we knew and felt very comfortable with, just doing what we'd been doing for 15 years. All of the sudden (relatively speaking) God comes along and says, 'hey, New Zealand needs some help! Off you go'. Talk about shocking! Talk about unsettling! We were/are terrified! But God comes alongside us/me and says, 'do not be afraid'. Ah, what words of comfort! I need desperately to hear that. We have gone from living in our small, comfortable world to being transplanted into a much bigger and unknown 'God' picture.
God is good....all the time.....all the time....God is good.....
and I just keep trusting Him day by day......
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