In a Stable, in Snow Camp

Today, I decided to do something far out of the norm for me. My life is pretty much scheduled, from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed. Expectations exist and even with the greatest Superman effort that can be mustered up for the day, I will still have things that fail to get done in a day. We all have that experience, don’t we? Today, I begged God to reveal Himself, His presence with me, knowing that such an experience is more fulfilling than anything else in the world.

Leave it to the Lord to take me off the normal path to be reminded He is anything but ordinary. I took a few minutes today to go to Cedar Rock Park, a place in our area. The intention was to get about ten minutes of fresh air before continuing on, but the Lord was answering a prayer. I climbed out of the truck and started towards a path to the waterfall when something caught my eye. I have been to the park a hundred times and never saw this old building, an old barn-looking structure.

And there it was…a stable, in the middle of Snow Camp, NC…the very thing I had prayed for. The reminder of His presence stood before me as I looked at the old structure and remembered that a stable in Bethlehem was where Christ was born. The reminder, in a place unexpected, was that He came, that His Spirit is here, and we have a reason to rejoice.

My devotional book, A Midnight Clear, is being shopped right now. I have had that project on my mind quite a bit lately as it seeks to reconnect us with the real meaning of Christmas and the real message of Christmas – God with us, Immanuel has come. As Matthew wrote, “See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name Him Immanuel, which is translated ‘God is with us.’” (Matthew 1:23 HCSB) The message is not confined to a simple season, to a month of the year, but is ever the reminder that we need every day. He came. He came to walk amongst us.

He came in a place that seemed unusual for a king, but isn’t that how God works? He does things in His way! In a place where I had been repeatedly, He answered my prayer by reminding He was there. If our eyes are open, if our hearts are receptive, the reminders of His presence are all around. Sometimes, He uses a stable, in the middle of Snow Camp, to remind us that He is with us.