December was a time of refreshment and joy
After a very long November (and a 3rd blog written whilst half awake) Advent was a lovely change of pace. Taking intentional time to meditate on the fragility, humility, and profound “humanness” of the Christmas story helped me come to grips with my own limitations. Sometimes I think we experience the most growth in busy seasons that feel dry, but fail to recognize it simply because we don’t have time to process our feelings and experiences. This can make fellows difficult, where sometimes every month feels like a year, but December gave me time to reflect to recognize all that God has done. I think having to navigate all the new relationships fellows requires brought up unhealed insecurities in me I thought I had dealt with. It made me realize how much I often assume others won’t like me and reject myself despite being invited somewhere, how I avoid conflict and suppress my emotions in the name of being productive and moving forward, and find comfort in validation of others rather than in what God says about me. Gods reveals our hurts so that we can confess them and then he will heal us, but confession is that crucial step that many are too afraid to cross over. Honesty, both with God and community has been a major blessing to me as of late. Thank you Jesus for your willingness to expose what I would prefer to hide.
On a less serious note December was a ton of fun. Some of what I loved included
The endless Christmas parties
Pastoral care visits with sweet older ladies who tell me about their grandkids
Watching movies and sharing stories at guys nights
Random theological conversations in the middle of a Christmas dinner (yes this is my idea of fun)
The return of prayer partners
Spending the nights playing Spiderman (Christmas video game sales are amazing)
Ryan driving the lift to hang Christmas decorations in the sanctuary
The most AMAZING secret Santa game I have ever had the pleasure to participate in
Continuing to the learn how to cook!
And so much more
In addition Christmas break with my family has been great! God gave me lots of opportunities this year to share the gospel with much of my extended family, which would normally make me nervous but this year felt quite natural. I got some pretty great gifts, ate awesome food (shout out to my aunts jalapeno poppers), caught up with friends and family, and overall felt very refreshed and encouraged
Until next time
Elijah