“The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.” – C. S. Lewis

For a few years, my family was just three of us: my two adolescent daughters and me. So, one of those years I bought a box of Hallmark cards with a graphic of these three angels, representing our trio. One of them, you see, has her eyes open, her feet askew, and her halo slipping. We sent the cards out to our friends and family.

A few years later, one of my daughters bought the ceramic depiction of that card as you see above. We all laughed and remembered those days of just the three of us. As we talked, we confessed that, when we sent out those cards, we each felt we were the angel with the slipped halo. Surprised? Then let me ask: Which of the three angels do you identify with?

Most of us know we don’t measure up to God’s standard. We aren’t conforming to his perfect plan. We have a bit of rebellion in us. Or we just can’t get it together. It’s good that we see that! It’s that acknowledgement that will compel us to reach out to Jesus, the baby of Christmas, the Savior of the world, to ask him to forgive our sins and make us righteous and pure in his sight.

He will do that, if we ask. It’s why he came.

Corrie ten Boom said it this way: “Who can add to Christmas? The perfect motive is that God so loved the world. The perfect gift is that he gave his only Son. The only requirement is to believe in him. The reward of faith is that you shall have everlasting life.”

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” – Luke 2:14

“Jesus was God and man in one person, that God and man might be happy together again.” -George Whitefield

I was feeling down. I won’t go into details, but a weary sadness had settled in.

On my way back home from an errand, it occurred to me that joy was a fruit of the Holy Spirit in my life. Maybe he could help. So, I began talking to him, telling him that I was sad. Immediately it occurred to me that I should sing Joy to the World. So I sang it all the way home. And I thought about the words: Let earth receive her king. Let every heart prepare him room. My heart felt a little lighter.

Then I saw the accumulated snow/ice at the end of my driveway and realized I’d better get that out of there before it froze again. So I grabbed a shovel and started to work. Ten minutes later, I saw our neighbor coming across the yard saying, “Let me do that.” He took the shovel and finished the job. But, the best part was that he was dressed in a red sweatshirt with brightly colored ornaments – the kind of shirt that made me smile.

I went in the house to wrap Christmas gifts, thinking of the people I love and the gifts I want them to have. Happy thoughts moved in. Joy had returned.

There is joy in Christmas, but I had lost it. A little conversation with the Holy Spirit brought it back. All I had to do was ask, listen, and do what he said. I love how he works – through music, neighbors, or silly sweatshirts. He will do it for you, too. He doesn’t make all our troubles go away, but he does bring joy in the middle of them – if we ask, if we let him.

“Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” – John 16:24b