I have a friend who greets everyone with the phrase, ‘what’s the word?’  Sometimes people reply, sometimes they don’t.  As I was thinking about that ‘interesting’ greeting, I began to think about Christmas and the words associated with the WORD coming to earth as He did.   Just look at Christmas cards,  or think about the Carols sung, words like joy, peace, hope, blessings, etc. permeate the air.  Is there one word that speaks to your heart this Christmas?

There is for me.  it is the word ‘trust’.  I know that you don’t see this word on cards a lot, but it certainly is a theme of the Season.  Without trust, Mary and Joseph might not have been able to say the eternal ‘yes’.  For me, it has taken on a whole new meaning and I am hoping that this gift will be with me throughout my life.  I am slowly beginning to realize that if I really ‘trust’ then I can let go of all of my concerns and worries.  This sounds simplistic I know, and it is certainly head knowledge, but I am slowly starting to make it heart knowledge. 

If I ‘let go’ I am not saying to God that I don’t care, I’m not saying that these are my concerns, I’m not saying that I’m forgetting about it.  I am saying that ‘You made me promises, am I going to believe them or not?’  Do I think that if I worry myself sick over something that God is going to pay more attention?  He knows my heart, my soul, my thoughts and desires.  He knows what concerns me, what lays heavy on me.  And, he came to take these from me. 

And so, my New Year’s strategy (beginning a bit early) is to take my worries and present them to him each and every time they inflitrate my psyche.  I must admit that I usually say something like, ‘you know how these weigh heavy on my heart’ just in case…you know, old habits are hard to break.  And then I let go (with white knuckles), and in doing so, I think that I have begun to experience a bit of that peace which surpasses understanding.

I guess that I am a very slow learner…..