Home

We arrived in NYC on Saturday afternoon. The city, as always, was beautifully decorated for Christmas. One of our annual Nordberg family traditions has been to go down to the city and enjoy the magnificient store window decorations, hotels, Rockefeller Center, the parks, streets and the churches. NYC does December over the top.

The sparkle of the city just didn't seem right this year. Everyone is bussling around, selecting gifts, putting up decorations, having parties. And Elizabeth is planning yet another memorial service, funeral and burial. And we are sad and grieving all over.

I love Christmas. Not just all the decorations but the giving and loving part, the being with family, the candles in the windows, the sights and smells of pines and cookies baking. We remember that God is love and that He gave. 2 Corinthians 9:15 says, "thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift." And it does seem almost unspeakable that God would reach down into our humanity to become one of us. As I read over the account in Luke and Matthew during my quiet time in the mornings now, I have a different perspective. It is a wonderful story, but I can see it was not all happiness and light for those involved. Mary was willing and obedient, but it cost her dearly. She really could not know fully what saying "be it unto me according to your word.", would actually mean in her life. I'm sure her nine months of pregnacy were troubled by misperceptions and wrong interpretations. Thank goodness the Word tells us that Joseph was a just man, not willing to make Mary a public example. He thought before acting and gave God an opportunity to explain the situation. The birth was wonderful and glorious, even though in humiliating surroundings. However, her heart must have caught in her throat when they brought Jesus to the temple to present him to the Lord. Simeon gives her a little glimpse into their future, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;, yes, a sword shall pierce through your own soul also....",. there is trouble coming. And she kept these things and pondered them in her heart.

The wise men come to worship and bring gifts when Jesus is a young child, living in a home by then. And a tyrant king brings horror and grief to a small town, killing all of it's children. Mary, Joseph and Jesus barely excape. Jesus is not immuned to sadness and lose. His cousin, John, is beheaded during his ministry. A weak king, a slut of a girl and a vindictive wife cause the death of his friend and cousin, who is the same age as Jesus. It is not right.

And yet I see the love and compassion of our Father through this all. Life is a struggle but Jesus has prevailed over it all. He is victorious and He has the keys now to death and hell. And many are pouring into the kingdom. Joy, happiness, salvation, health and deliverance have been poured out among us through His sacrifice.

And I pray that Elizabeth will come again with joy and purpose and a sense of His presence. And that we all will be filled with a sense of wonder and love during this time when we are grieving and sorrowful about the loss of a husband and lover, a son, a brother, a friend and everything else he was to all.