"WHEN SUDDENLY'

Working the night shift had always been hard!  While the rest of the world was lying in their warm comfy beds, he was out here trying to make a living.  It wasn't only himself that felt this way, but he saw it in the faces of his coworkers as well. All of them trying to stay awake, to stay diligent, trying to be on their toes for their shift! "I mean honestly," he thought to himself, "why would he ever expect to get a different job?"  "He was untrained, uneducated, trapped doing the same work that his father did, and his father did before him."  " But why, didn't he get more acknowledgement for the skill that it took to do his meager work?"  "Still", he thought to himself, "Shouldn't just knowing that he was good at what he did, give him some sense of pride?" "Yet" as he continued on wrestling with his thoughts, "it was monotonous work!" "Don't think about all that",  he chided himself, "at least in this economy you still have a job and a steady way to put bread on the table!"  Little did he realize, that on this one special night, his world would forever change..."when suddenly!"

Wonder if that is how the shepherd's felt that night?  They certainly did not expect anything out of the ordinary to happen as they tended to their flocks.  They were just doing what shepherds do, watching and caring for their sheep.  "When suddenly" an angel appeared to them.  They were not ready for that one!  I mean they were experts in killing wolves and bears that posed a danger, but they weren't prepared for an angel and an encounter with the Living God!  And the bible says it made them terrified! (Luke 2:9, NIV)

Ever have one of those "when suddenly" moments?  Things are going along in a regular routine "when suddenly" you get a call that there was an accident?  Or "when suddenly" the doctor calls and your test came back with a suspicious looking shadow? Or "when suddenly"  your husband looses his job after 34 years and your world turns upside down and the future looks so uncertain.  All of these "and suddenly" times have happened in my life and I admit, that I too, was terrified at the moment!   But who wouldn't be?

After the shepherds visited Bethlehem and saw what the angel proclaimed, the scripture says they were amazed and "returned glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen". (Luke 2:20) Notice the scripture says they returned.  Did that mean they returned to their shepherding job and their same old monotonous routine?  I don't know, but it does make us wonder!  How did that night affect them the rest of their lives?   The Bible remains silent to this question, but as in all of us, when God touches our lives, it is always for the better, and it is never remains the same!

Soon Christmas 2014 will be a thing of the past.  Everything will be packed up tight in the attic until next year.  But the question remains for all of us, will this "when suddenly" moment, that changed the shepherds lives, also change us? " For God loved us so much, He sent His one and only son not to condemn the world but to save the world through Him."  (John 3:16)

"Packed Away"

The tinsels all packed with the holiday past,

but I wonder how long this good feeling will last?

A feeling of giving, a heart filled with love,

the joy of a baby, sent to earth from above.

It's a joy to spend Christmas with family and friends,

But what about later?  Is that where it ends?

As I pack up the manger, each piece carefully lay,

does all of this have special meaning today?

I think of you, Jesus, as my packaging starts.

How many just pack You away from their hearts?

Away from their life, away from their mind,

and then when in trouble, they hurry to find,

some help from you, Lord, in their time of need.

It seems selfish and cruel, and it's sad indeed!

If only they knew you're there, come what may,

You're God, and You're working in lives everyday!

To draw from each moment, to help with each task,

A close friend to talk with.   What more could we ask?

A redeemer, a comfort, a rock, where we stand.

You'll lead, if we place all our life in Your hand.

You never forsake us, or leave to despair,

you're constant, and faithful, and always right there!

So Lord, hear our prayer, as we start each new day.

Help us Lord, know You more, not just pack You away!

Written by Becky Swymeler, 1982