When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

Isaiah 43:2 NIV

Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.
Psalm 57:1 NIV

After many years of suffering through illness, and the loss of a house, my family and I believed God for a home of our own again. He miraculously provided us with a house in January of 2017, and we gave Him thanks and praise. We rejoiced and took nothing for granted. We were humbled and thankful. Before we were even fully settled in, 8 months after the closing of our loan, our home was flooded by hurricane Harvey. We had no flood insurance. Our lives were completely turned upside down. We didn’t understand, and we were hurt. My boys had been in awe of how God had been so good to us, and then they didn’t understand why all our stuff was ruined, including the house God had gifted us. It made me question God’s love & His ways because, as a parent, I can’t imagine allowing that to happen to one of my children when I could have stopped it. He could have stopped it. He could have not let us buy that house, or He could have stopped the storm from coming. He could have stopped the water. He could have done so many things, but He chose not to, and I do not understand that. It hurts me to type this because I know my Heavenly Father is always good, and I’m not. He remains faithful, even when I’m not. He’s God, not me. Who am I to judge Him?

As Christmas approaches, I am facing the thought of celebrating our first Christmas in our new home somewhere else besides our new home, since it isn’t exactly livable. After moving in the house, we had spent the entire year looking forward to the holidays. We discussed where we would put the Christmas tree, and could not wait to bring out our decorations. Christmas 2016, we were unable to decorate at all because we lived with my parents as we were saving to buy this house. All those little dreams were crushed when the water came pouring into our home on the evening of August 29, 2017. I have been in tears many times since that night, feeling sorry for myself and my boys. I wanted to rise above, be strong, and testify about how the flood was a blessing. I wanted God to use our testimony to encourage others, and lead them to a saving knowledge of Christ, but I am failing Him, as per usual. I am a mess most of the time. I have days that I am hopeful, but unfortunately, it does not last long. I am on a roller coaster of emotions.

BUT… something unexpected happened this week as I began to look around and remember what Christmas should be about… A thrill of HOPE.

Imagine with me, right when you’re feeling overwhelmed and weary, there is a sudden burst of HOPE! That’s what a thrill of hope is!
And, that’s what we experience at Christmas as we celebrate the truth that God is with us. Oh, let’s dwell on the thrill of hope that we have today! And let’s rejoice big time.

– Jennifer Rothschild

Jesus. Hope. God with us. Maybe if the flood had not come and temporarily taken away what we were so in love with – our home – we would have forgotten that Christmas is about celebrating the birth of our Savior. Jesus came out of Heaven, to this broken Earth, for us. If He had not, we would all be doomed to actual hell. What a gift He gave. It cannot be earned. We could never be good enough to cover our own sins.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing: it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

-Ephesians 2:8-9

Jesus knew we could never measure up, so He willingly came. He made a way for all to enter Heaven. That’s the gift we should be focused on this year, not our home with all our brand new contents, or whatever it may be that you are putting your hope in. I believe God is showing us through this loss, among countless other things, that houses and belongings come and go, but He’s constant. He’s our Safe Place. He’s our Home.

Lord, through all the generations, You have been our Home!”

– Psalm 90:1

As we walk the concrete floors, partially covered in brown paper and sheet rock dust, we must remember this is only a vapor of time. Yes, it’s hard, but it isn’t the end of us. We can still have Christmas, and we will. How much more we will remember the “first Christmas we spent in our new home”? How sweet is it that no matter where we are, we are all together, celebrating Jesus? There will be a time when we can no longer say that. Even then, we will need to hold on to this… Christmas isn’t about where we physically live, or what we possess. It’s not about made up traditions, cozy fantasies, or magical experiences. It’s not even about our families. It’s about Jesus. If we are fixed on anything other than that, we have it all wrong.