Originally posted on my old blog in December 2015.

A father leaves, and a young girl cries. He was never supposed to do that.
Sirens blare and a young couple shakes in fear.
A husband speaks angrily, and a wife sits in silent hate.
A boy shuffles unseen through a crowded lunchroom.
A baby struggles to breathe.
A white-haired woman eats alone. The air feels heavy with hopelessness.

The stories pile up, brick by brick, and the earth begins to churn under the weight of it all.

Fathers are supposed to stay, and husbands are supposed to love, and tragedy is not supposed to touch us. Teenagers are supposed to have friends, and babies are supposed to have healthy lungs, and elderly women are supposed to be surrounded by dozens of younger voices asking for stories and wisdom and favorite recipes.

But sometimes fathers don’t stay. Sometimes husbands don’t love, and sometimes they do and their wives hate them anyway. Sometimes the worst thing we can imagine is exactly what has happened. So many “supposed tos” fail, and what can we do? It makes us grit our teeth. It makes us hate God. Where is God? Does He see us?

The stories pile up, brick by brick, and the earth begins to churn under the weight of it all.

The weary world.

A man and his wife, wandering outside.
Did they wonder why God did not provide?
Did she question as she endured the pain?
The once she held Him, gasp? Whisper His name?

Jesus.

The stories have been piling up, brick by brick, and the earth continues to churn under the weight of it all. We cannot carry it. We were never meant to.

But now—now, He is here! He is hope!

“The thrill of hope! The weary world rejoices!”

The provision we were craving, He is here. He is hope. The miracle of Emmanuel, God with us.

Babies always matter, oh how they matter, but this baby—this baby is love incarnate. He will make the way for all the others. 

We proclaim births on Instagram and 5x7 cardstock, but God proclaimed it in the sky: GOOD TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY. He has always known how to celebrate.

“You see, God was like a new daddy—he couldn’t keep the good news to himself. He’d been waiting all these long years for this moment, and now he wanted to tell everyone…He’s here! He’s come! Go and see him. My little Boy… This baby would be like that bright star shining in the sky that night. A Light to light up the whole world. Chasing away darkness. Helping people to see. And the darker the night got, the brighter the star would shine.” –Sally Lloyd-Jones, Jesus Storybook Bible

And though the world continues to churn, though fathers may leave and babies may gasp for breath, we can rejoice, even through tears, because look! Look how God provides! Look how He cares! He sent our redemption in the most unexpected of packages, and Mary cradled Him in her arms, held Him close. He grew into a man, loved us unto death, and conquered the thing we fear the most. He cradles us in His arms, holds us close. The weary world can finally rejoice.

“Joy is the affirmation of the thing that’s truer than any trouble, any affliction: the affirmation that love wins. Jesus is as good as we hope, it’s all worth it, and all will be redeemed.” –Sarah Bessey

“For all who wait
For all who hunger
For all who've prayed
For all who wander
Behold your King
Behold Messiah
Emmanuel, Emmanuel"

-“Light of the World,” Lauren Daigle