A Reflection on the Baby Jesus and Scented Candles - H

Photo via We Heart It

Hello, beautiful people! 💝 I hope you all are having a lovely week! Here it is finally getting colder, but we have yet to see any significant snowfall! Guess I'll have to start sleeping with a spoon under my pillow. Did anyone else ever do that as a kid to conjure snow? 😂 Anyway, let's open up a can of realness today . . .

Have you ever felt like God couldn't use you? Like, maybe you think you're too bad, too boring, too young, or too insignificant?

Well, I'm here today to tell you that that is a straight-up lie! In fact, let me elucidate a little further.

This being the lovely month of December, and since there are 24 days in December before Christmas Day, my pastor suggested to me that I read one chapter of Luke a day, because there are 24 chapters. So that's what I'm doing, and you know what I've noticed? Jesus had some pretty humble beginnings.

"Humble beginnings" means that at the beginning of your life, you were not wealthy or popular. You're low on the food chain hierarchy. Now, let me tell you a thing: Jesus started out basically at the bottom of the food chain in his time. Pretty much the only station lower than his would be a shepherd's. But despite his humble beginnings, He was destined for greatness. (Wow, this sounds like the beginning of a superhero movie. 😂) (I guess in a way, Jesus kind of is a superhero!) My point is that it didn't matter where He came from, because He had an undeniable inheritance. And so do we.

This past week, someone hit a telephone wire, and the power in our neighborhood went out for about an hour. It was after dusk, so everything was pitch black. I'll admit I was a little scared. I felt blind and helpless. Then I got the idea to light candles.

We gathered all the candles in the house and lit them all. There were big ones, small ones, fat ones, tall ones, scented ones, and even four in a small candelabra which had three angels that would spin when heated by the flame.

We are like those candles. That is our destiny, our inheritance. It might look different for all of us, but one thing unites us: our light.

We all have a light, people. The Bible uses the word "light" in a lot of different analogies, but in relation to us, our "light" is our sphere of influence. We all have one; there's no way not to have one. Here is a Scripture from Luke, actually, to explain what I mean.

Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. [Luke 11:34-35]

Even if you don't talk to anyone and just sit in your house all day, you still have a light to shine. In that case you are just choosing to hide it, which wasn't God's intention. So you see, no matter who we are or where we come from, we all have a light to shine, whether we're a scented candle or not. (I think if I were a scented candle, I would be lavender. I love that scent. 😍 ) And it is God's intention for us to fulfill our purposes on this earth by spreading His Word within our light! (And also expanding our light to reach more people!)

We as humans are used to conventions. We search for patterns, put people in categories. I think God delights in turning those stereotypes on their heads. He doesn't want us to exclude people. He wants to show us just how much He can do through us if we have the faith to trust Him with the outcome. Just look at Jesus!

• He came as a baby (vulnerable and weak).
• He was born of a virgin (who was unmarried at the time of Jesus's conception #scandalous).
• He "worked" on the Sabbath day, even though that wasn't allowed.
• He associated with "bad" people, like tax collectors, people with leprosy, and adulterous women.
• He basically lived like a nomad.
• He told the Pharisees they're wrong.
• And He convicted people of their sins then skrrted when they got mad at Him.

So basically Jesus was not what people expected. (I've noticed that's a theme with pretty much everything God does. 😂) Based on the numerous Old Testament prophecies about the Savior, people had a certain image in their minds of what Jesus should be. So when He finally did come . . . well, if you look at it that way, it's a little easier to understand why so many people didn't get it at first. But despite everything that was unconventional about Jesus, He still made an everlasting impact that lives to this day. And He's still making people mad! 😂

Here's the bottom line--if you get nothing else from this blog post, get this:

No matter who you are, God can use you.

The trick is to open your heart up to letting Him guide you.

Well, I could go on, but then we really would be here until Christmas! 😂
Much love and God bless! 💞
H

December 9, 2018