" . . . there was no room for them in the inn."  - Luke 2:7b


Every year I get re-intrigued with the fact that Jesus wasn't born in a normal place. Most of the manger scenes do a horrible job of picturing what it would have had to been like - they make it look almost romantic!  I confess I rather like the idea that Jesus' start was in an abnormal, even stinky place - it so flies in the face of what we naturally consider desirable or normal.

There are many times when I am aware that I am not "normal", that something is weird about me.  And I wish I didn't have to feel that way. Since "normal" is generally defined as what most socially acceptable people are like, the quickest way for me to jump out of that ditch is to ask myself, "So, which one of these "normal" people that you are using as a standard do you want to be like?"  I quickly discover I'd rather be me with what makes me weird than someone else without those characteristics. (Not because they are bad, heaven forbid; just because they are not me.)
 
It may be hard to deal with feelings that one's birthplace, family functioning, childhood experiences, mental capacity, personality, life events, likes and dislikes, etc., are not "normal."  Perhaps we'd rather not talk about them, since we think they may reflect negatively on us or hold a lot of shame.  It may seem as if things would have been better for us if something had been different.

What a trap for unhappiness and getting stuck in an emotional ditch that is filled with sewage.  What would it be like to assume that our Savior and Redeemer looks for the strange places, the stinky places, the unsuitable places to which to come, if the door is at all opened to Him.  And those weird places can become places of joy, of gratefulness, of anticipation.

I need to keep getting it that Jesus couldn't care less how things look in our lives - our appearance doesn't make any impression on Him at all.  What matters is how things really are, and He can come right into the messy realities and make Himself a home.  And when that happens, something changes.

Next Thursday is Christmas so I wonder if I will have anything written or not.  We'll see.  If I don't, have a blessed Christmas!

"God, continue to challenge my assumptions about places you like to be and places you don't want to be.  Just because I like certain places and hate others doesn't mean you do.  Thank you for caring enough about your children to look weak, and unwanted - hidden away from where the normal people were - in order to reach us. There was plenty of room for you where You showed up.  Thanks again for coming!  Amen"