More about Christmas...

Hello all,
Here is a quick little update! It was my last day of school today, so I am officially off for the holidays! Tomorrow evening I leave for Salzburg, to spend the weekend at the house of a friend, who has offered me a place there for the weekend. She has offered to show me around Salzburg and give me a real "Austrian" experience. Instead of all the "typical touristy, Austrian things" she has offered to take me to some places that aren't so typical. We'll see what that means!
Then on Monday morning I head over to Eastern Austria and will be picked up from the train station by my grandma, MOM and SISTER! Yeah! Did I mention that I am so excited! It will make this break in the semester so good- and I really need it. For some reason I am so exhausted from this semester so far- which is interesting because it has really not been too difficult (except this morning when I had to face an exam for my Mediation course- that was taught in German- so of course I had to write the exam in GERMAN! It was hard!) Anyways, I don't know what it is, maybe it is the full responsibility of not living at home, which is a first for me! Maybe it's that even though I am settling in, there is that constant feeling in the background that I am going home kind of soon, it's a lingering feeling.

With Christmas I have also been a little bit sad, because my entire family isn't together this year. I love my family so much, and it has been hard, thinking about Christmas without them. I was thinking about it so much lately, but then this...
We had a prayer breakfast this morning with OeSM, there was a common theme in my group of suffering going on in families, and the grief that comes with that, especially at Christmas. And suddenly it occurred to me in a new way what Christmas means.
Get this:
For so long we have watched movies and read stories about how families are all trying to come together for Christmas. There is this typical image of family sitting around the table for Christmas Dinner, or gathered around the tree.
Don't get me wrong, this is a huge blessing, and something to be so thankful to God for.
      But there is a stronger reality: That there is so much brokenness in this world and broken families, where for some reason, they aren't together at Christmas
      But get this: A baby was born. His mother was rejected by society for becoming pregnant outside of marriage. She has been travelling for several days on the back of a donkey, to come to what? A barn, where the most comfortable place to lay down was hay. She had her baby boy with no help of doctors or nurses, bringing him into a society where the king had so much power a year later he demanded all baby boys be killed!
Jesus wasn't born in a perfect setting. He was born into a place that was also full of brokenness and grief.
Jesus didn't come to the world, so that we can celebrate it each year by gathering around a warm fire all together drinking hot-chocolate.
Yes, it sounds dramatic, but the truth of Jesus and what he represents is so much MORE dramatic! There are no words to express the feeling of pure, and complete joy that comes with knowing that with the birth of Jesus would come a life full of promise for each of us.
I know this message does come up again and again, but let's truly be brought closer to Jesus through Christmas this year.
This is how I experienced it, and hopefully will even more through out the rest of Christmas.


Isaiah 9

The people who walk in darkness
will see a great light.
For those who live in a land of deep darkness,
a light will shine.
You will enlarge the nation of Israel,
and it's people will rejoice.
They will rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest
and like warriors dividing the plunder.
For you will break the yoke of their slavery
You will break the oppressor's rod,
just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.


Love you all and Blessings for this Christmas season!
Christi