November 28

I’ll never forget my broken-hearted five-year-old the day his dad passed away. I didn’t think he understood what was happening until he accidentally broke one of the wise men from the nativity set sitting on the fireplace hearth. He burst into tears and thought he had ruined the whole thing. It still makes me tear up just thinking about it. From that point on, I quit displaying the wise men when I set out a nativity set for Christmas, and, if you think about it, they were not there for the birth of Jesus; it was about a year later. This year, for the first time in 26 years, I decided to display that particular nativity set; I hadn’t even looked at it for all those years. When I noticed the missing wise man, the memories of that day flooded back. That was a rough time in our lives, but I grew in the LORD immensely during that time; I had to rely on him; he was all I had. There was no superhero to swoop in and save the day; it was Jesus who got me through it. Since then, I have grown stronger in my walk, depending on him every step of the way. 

If you are struggling right now, rely on Jesus, he will get you through. You will persevere and learn to depend on him for everything. He’s all we have, but he’s all we need.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. James 1:2-3