Immanuel Still

A baby arrived and they called Him Jesus. God called Him God With Us. Immanuel. God revealing Himself. And sticking around.

All of humanity needed a Savior. So He came. The only One fit for the job. And while here, He revealed Himself and showed us all that He is. All that we aren’t. All that we need. God With Us.

He left and His Spirit came to lead us and show us the way to live, all the truth we need for real living. And God is with us. Because Immanuel came.

He came for the joys. Like the birth of my daughters. God with us.

And for the sorrows. Like the subsequent desperate pleas of this clueless mom who feels so inadequate. God is with us.

I drive through the path that the mercy storm left last fall, and still cry for beauty that was lost. For the mercy that was shown. And God is with us.

I read an e-mail and discover that death has turned a friend’s world upside down two days before Christmas. But God is with us.

The bad news grows: a friend of a friend, another husband, a wife and mother. And God is here.

Because that’s His name. Immanuel. God with us.

That’s what God named Him before He even got here. God revealed.

Sometimes the pit gets slipperier and harder to climb out. But God is with us.

Tonsils are removed. Healing takes weeks. God is with us.

A car crashes into a family whose lives are instantly and forever changed.  God is with us.

A marriage falls apart and children are fatherless. Still, God is with us.

Because that’s what He does. Never leaves. Always loves. Always holds. Always Immanuel.

So we celebrate His birth. We get trees and hang wreaths and make cookies and candies. We give each other gifts to celebrate His coming. We even change up the radio lineup for a few weeks and sing songs specific to this special celebration. And God is with us.

But Christmas ends. And we take down the tree and eat up the cookies and put away the gifts and return to the songs of November.

And God is with us!

Still.