Sleepless nights and tired Days.

“It’s your turn to get up with her.”

Unexpected expenses and drained bank accounts.

“We needed what?!”

Screaming fits and an anticipated evening of peaceful respite lost.

“She’s ready to eat again?”

A growing pile of laundry and wearied bodies.

“But we just changed her diaper!”

The birth of a child changes everything.

Priorities change. Routines change. Outlooks on life change.

But these changes aren’t bad.

Bright-eyed stares.

“She loves the lights.”

A noisy house.

“She loves to talk.”

Time to play.

“She loves to play!”

A wonderful sense of serenity.

“She loves to be held.”

Wonder abounds. Hope is restored. Life’s possibilities seem endless again.

The birth of a child changes everything. We too often forget this fact, taking for granted the miracle of birth. Perhaps you’ve forgotten or lost sight of life’s possibilities. Perhaps life has thrown you one too many curves, causing you confusion. Perhaps your life is filled with sleepless nights and tired days. Perhaps you’ve gotten caught up in the culture’s fitful dramas and restlessness. Perhaps life’s messiness has wearied your body and your spirit.

Perhaps you’ve forgotten the difference a child can make. As we celebrate the birth of Jesus this Christmas season, we remember that a child did change everything. As the star illumined Bethlehem two-thousand years ago, celebrating the birth of Immanuel, so Christ’s light shines in the darkness today. He still beckons us to come and follow him. He still beckons us to a life of peace and joy and love and hope.

Learn more about St. John's Evangelical Protestant Church online: www.stjohnscullman.com