Macey France: Praying For Guidance This Christmas
As I sit here staring at a blank page wondering what to write, I realize I have so many things swirling around in my head that I would like to tell you all but I can’t pinpoint just one.
It is Christmas Eve and I look at the twinkling lights on the tree and listen to my sons conversations as they discuss the latest football scores. I am blessed.
I worry about the state of affairs in the Unites States. I am apprehensive as I read the headlines online, in the newspapers and magazines. Every one of them seems to be worse than the last and certainly worse than just a few years ago.
I find myself spending a lot of time getting my house prepared for Christmas. I want it just right so that I can relax and enjoy it along with my family. I rarely enjoy the fruits of my labor though. My brain is a pinball machine with all kinds of thoughts careening back and forth and causing me a headache.
When I first started the long and tedious process of looking into the Common Core, I realized that to know anything about it I would have to take the time to look at the history of education reform. What an ugly and disappointing process. I can confidently say that it has never been about the kids. It has been used as a tool by those who want to change the world to their vision.
Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and decide not to look into education reform. Sometimes I want to not know it. I can never return to that time of ignorance and I now know that ignorance sometimes really is bliss.
The veil has been lifted from my eyes and I now know more than I ever wanted about so many things with our government. And it makes me incredibly sad as I learn about our founding fathers in my son’s 4th grade homeschool curriculum. To know how hard they fought and the Biblical principles they stood on to birth our nation and to see where we have come is almost too much.
Somewhere along the way it became twisted. Just as the founders predicted, evil men have used their positions for their own gain.
And why does this surprise me? Well, it doesn’t anymore. When I first had my eyes opened I was shocked. But now I am resigned to the fact that this was inevitable in a way. Men are men. Human beings propensity for sin is strong and of course we’d get it wrong. Of course we’d take what the Lord has given us and twist it. It’s what we do. We can trace it all the way back to Genesis 3.
I am thankful that I believe in a God who is stronger than any nation on earth. He is loyal. He is kind. He is merciful. He is loving.
And while I’m losing hope in our once great nation, my hope in Him is growing. Maybe that is what He had planned for me in my walk with Him all along. To see that putting hope in mere humans is to misplace hope.
So this Christmas season I plan on praying for help and guidance from the Holy Spirit, to look past this temporal mess and keep my eye on the future He has planned for me. I will unplug from social media and spend time with the family He has so graciously blessed me with. I will pray for them and I will continue to pray for my nation.
I truly believe that is the biggest thing we can do right now. It probably always was; though I think we forgot it at some point.
I will sit and remember, truly remember and focus on the One that came to save us all. The One who was the greatest gift who has redeemed us and calls us His own. The only One to hope in.
Merry Christmas, friends.
