“Because of Bethlehem, I have a friend in heaven.” (Max Lucado ‘Because of Bethlehem’).

Rolling out of bed on Christmas Eve Eve this morning, I realized I need to really S-L-O-W down today and remember the reason for the season. I’ve been caught up in holiday hustle and bustle, not just in the ‘normal’ ways of shopping and parties, but I added a side hustle to help with bills as a UPS Seasonal Driver too. To say I’m busy and tired is an understatement! I am definitely blessed to have this second job, but I recognize I need to pause for a little longer today and focus on God and His wonderful, amazing, selfless gift of His Only Son, Jesus, that He gave to you and me.

Being the book-lover I am, I picked up a book on my TBR (To Be Read) that caught my attention, “Because of Bethlehem” by Max Lucado. I was planning on reading this starting in December, and yup, here we are on the 23! Then I remembered God has a plan always, and maybe He kept me busy all December to get to this point where I’m thinking, man, I need more God time today, and I will enjoy the full book after work.

I read the first chapter this morning for my God Time and already love it! Back to the quote from my beginning, “Because of Bethlehem, I have a friend in heaven,” spoke to me deeply this morning. Christmas is the beginning of the amazing relationship I (and you) get to have! Jesus came down as the Son of God to be on earth, to understand what it is to be fully human, and then went back to be with His Father in heaven because Jesus was and is fully God too. That means we have God who loves us and Jesus who understands our human-ness like a friend would. 

Think of a good friend you have here on earth. I’m going to guess that friend understands and ‘gets you.’ You probably have inside jokes with that friend that only you understand because of certain experiences you have had together. You probably have leaned on that friend in hard times, and they know your past, good and not-so-good. That friend is most likely someone you can depend on and is there for you.

Now, as awesome as that friend is, they are human, and they will let us down or not be able to be there at all times. BUT here’s the amazing thing, like Max wrote, we have something even better, we have ‘a friend in heaven!” That means Jesus understands what we go through here on earth: the struggles, the pain, the heartache, the frustration, the anxious thoughts, the joy, the love, ALL of it! Jesus is the ultimate friend because while He was fully human, He is one-hundred percent God. That means Jesus is able to be there for us always. All we have to do is call, ask, and talk to Him. 

Today, as the hustle and bustle of Christmas Eve Eve sneaks in on you, pause and talk to your friend in heaven, Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

See ya in the next post, with

✝️Lots of Faith & Lil’ Bit of Fur 🐾