“And the apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.”
So the Lord said, ‘If you have faith as a mustard seed,
you can say to this mulberry tree,
‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.'”
~ Luke 17: 5,6 

Christmas is truly The Season of the Child – the child born in a manger, the child waiting with hopeful expectation, and the child within us. . . yearning. All are intertwined, though you couldn’t tell on a Hallmark movie or by the success markers in our culture, sometimes even within ourselves. In our hearts. . . oh, that is how you can tell.

Who does not feel the awe and wonder when they read or hear about the angels appearing to the shepherds at night:

“ Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.’

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

 ‘Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!'”
~ Luke 2: 8-20

Does that scripture not stir you. . . fill you with wonder. . . . Does it not call to the faith memories of your childhood, when belief in unseen things was as real as seen, tangible things? Oh, how it calls to the memories of backyard discussions with God just beyond the woodpile between my grandmother’s house and Laura May’s house. The woodpile hedging me in on one side and the forsythia boundary hedging me in on the other. I have memories of precious father-daughter talks there. The treehouse my grandfather put together out of pallets is long gone. Even the steep-old stairwell in the house has been replaced by a more user-friendly stairway. I wonder if the people who own the house now know there was once a space where a little girl talked to God. . . and because she drew near, calling out to Him, He showed up. . . .

I loved fairy tales as a child. I still do today. I think one of the reasons I loved them so is because they spoke to me as allegories of God. I, too, was the goose girl redeemed. The wise King who saw the young princess whose earthly father was no longer with them, her mother trying to secure her future the only way she knew how, the young woman losing the blessings she had through carelessness and putting her trust in those who took advantage of it is reduced to being a goose girl. Believing she is unseen and has no one to help her, she does the best she can where she has been planted. Yes, she grieves, but she also chooses goodness, love, kindness to those around her. Believing she is unseen and lost, the wise old king who was supposed to be her Father-in-Law sees. He saw her for who she truly is, saw what she was born to be, and because he sees her, sees the goodness she has not lost, though she has lost her identity, he redeems her, brings her into his kingdom, restores her identity, and makes all the wrongs right. Is that not an allegory of God’s amazing love for us? One that fills us with hope? Teaches us lessons on what kind of father God is?

Some scoff at the idea of a Knight in Shining armor riding up to save Snow White and Cinderella.

“I don’t need a Knight in Shining armor saving me,” they say, not seeing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in these allegories.

I say, “Yes, I do.” I need Jesus saving me, redeeming me from a story-line for which I was not designed. These fairy tales are hope stories, justice stories, over-coming stories, saving stories. Stories where goodness prevails. Sadly, they are also stories where justice/judgement can be brutal.

Maybe you’re reading this today, and you think, “How silly! I’m too smart, capable, independent to need any of that.” Some people would say fairy tales and notions of God were only for the uneducated, well, because believing in God is such a gullible act. Maybe you check all the “good thing” boxes: maybe you fast often, donate to local charities, tip well, give to the pan-handlers by interstate pull-ons. Maybe you’re a loyal friend, and you don’t cheat – on your taxes, in your relationships, in games, or on tests, and speak up on the wrongs you see in your community, the nation, the world.

 “And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven,
but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’  
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other;
 for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
~ Luke 18: 13,14

It takes a humble man to believe in God, one willing to lay down pride in self, in cultural accolades, in worldly power. It takes a humble man to see the sin in himself. Let me even take this one step further: it takes a humble man to see the biblical sin in himself. Not partisan cultural sin but Biblical sin. Recognizing Biblical sin means you have to recognize the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It means there is a crown that trumps self-made crowns. This recognition reduces an individual to a servant. . . even a child. . . . a child whose identity and rights come from his/her father.

Some might call it weaving imagination out of thin air. I call it faith in a Father who doesn’t abandon his children. I call it hope it things I don’t see right now, but believing as though they are. I call it celebrating a child born in a manger, God’s son becoming man, a person just like you and me, coming to love us, though we cannot even wrap our minds around that kind of love, coming to die for us, so we can go home with Him one day, to a Kingdom with a room just for you and me.

Yet, in order to enter The Season of the Child, we must become like little children who believe unreal things can become possible through Him.

As we enter The Season of the Child – may it be filled with child-like wonder at the sights we behold. May our hearts be stirred to awe at a Savior who chose to become man in order to save you and me. May we lay aside our self-pride and believe that with God the impossible is possible. With God, we are not alone between a woodpile and a forsythia hedge. With God, we are not defenseless against the night-terrors. We are not mothers, wives, daughters lost, unseen like a helpless goose girl whose identity has been stolen. With God, we can say to a mulberry tree, “Be pulled up by [your] roots and be planted in the bottom of the sea.” With God, we can rest in His all-is-well plan (1 Kings 4:26). With God, we lean in to Him and say, “Help me, Father,” when we cannot find the answers or when the answers we find don’t work.

All because of The Season of the Child, our God-designed identities can be reclaimed, our lost hopes can be restored, peace and joy can reign in our hearts. All because of The Season of the Child, we can be restored to a future beyond our imaginations, beyond our limitations, beyond our heart’s capabilities.

The key to this kingdom? Faith in Him like a little child.

Maybe you have a hard time believing this. You have a choice – to want to believe or not. If you want to believe. . . if you want this to be true, then just tell Him – because He wants us to tell Him, even though He already knows. . . tell Him, “I believe. . . help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). He will take your mustard-size belief and grow it beyond your imaginings.

“ Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”
~ Luke 18: 17

Remember Me Monday: #156 Link-up

“I’ll make a list of God’s gracious dealings,
    all the things God has done that need praising,
All the generous bounties of God,
    his great goodness to the family of Israel—
Compassion lavished,
.    love extravagant.”
~ Isaiah 63:7, The Message

In the Old Testament, God repeatedly, quietly and loudly, tells his children, “You have forgotten me!”  (Jeremiah 3:32, Ezekiel 22:12, to name a few). It’s a heart cry from a father to a child who has forgotten all the love, all the saving, helping, little and big blessings – and it leaves me stunned when I realize our Father, the creator of the universe, who knows things I cannot begin to fathom, who authors storylines that leave me amazed, delights in all of us so much, He cries out, “Remember Me.”

While every day is a Remember God Day, I am inviting you to join me on Monday mornings to come by and remember what God has done for you, for your family. Maybe God sent a cardinal darting out in front of you, as if to tell you, “I’m here,” or broke a child’s fever after you laid it all down at His feet in a 2 a.m. bedside vigil. Maybe He stood with you in the wait of a prayer sent out, or brought someone you loved to Christ. Maybe He healed your broken heart, gave your courage, or you gave Him your dreams as a love offering only to have Him give them back in an unimaginable way. Maybe God helped you survive to bedtime after a crazy Monday, or forgive yourself for missing it with your kiddos –– Whatever it is, let’s Remember Him. . . in a “Remember Me Monday” love letter.

“My mouth will tell of your righteousness,
Of your salvation all the day long,
Though I know not its measure.
I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign Lord”
~ Psalm 71:15-16.

Let us delight in Him by telling the  stories of what He’s done!  If you wrote a blog post remembering what He’s done for you, join the linky. If you didn’t but still want to praise Him for what He’s done – write it in the comment section. Then visit a comment before or after yours! One of the beautiful things about the blogging community is the relationships it builds!

Rules?  Write long or short, a list or a story, include photos or not. Just Remember Him and what He has done, and let the gratitude of your heart guide you. Let’s make Monday so Rejoice, that the goodness of God spills into the rest of the week! (Link opens Mondays at 6 a.m.)

Places I’m Linking at This Week:
  Instaencouragements, Legacy Link-Up, 
Let’s Have Coffee Wednesday 
Recharge Wednesday, Scripture & a Snapshot
Grace&Truth, Sweet Tea & Friends
The Good, The Random, The Fun