You don’t need me to tell you it’s been a year. Fear, anxiety, uncertainty, illness, controversy, division, and financial hardship have shaped the last few months. Now that the Advent season is upon us, it can be difficult to shift our focus from everything that is going on in the world to the celebration and remembrance of Jesus’ birth, but it’s also vitally important for our hearts, souls, and minds to do so.
The world was a mess at the time of Jesus’ arrival as well. The Hebrews were oppressed by the tyrannical Roman government, Jewish leaders imposed harsh, legalistic rules on the people, temple sellers and tax collectors stole from them, and many suffered from strange diseases like leprosy.
But into that mess and chaos that tiny baby was born. The birth would have been messy too, as all births are, exacerbated by the fact that it took place in a stable and was attended only by a young Jewish girl far from home and the husband who would never, under ordinary circumstances, have been present at the birth of a child. Both must have been terrified with no idea what to do as the labor pains intensified.
But God, in his mercy, allowed humanity glimpses of great beauty that night. A brilliant star hovered above the stable, directing any who sought the Messiah to the place where he was. An angel appeared to lowly shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus, and when a host of other angels joined the first one, the glory of the sight that filled the night sky is impossible to imagine. Even that time in the stable with Mary, Joseph, and the baby, before anyone else arrived, was a beautiful gift—a few hours for the three of them to be together as a family before Mary and Joseph had to share their newborn son with the world.
My current work in progress is a novel about sex-trafficking. It truly does not get any uglier or messier than that. But as my main character says,
“God spoke to me through beauty. There were always moments of beauty, even in the midst of all that ugliness.”
“Like what?” Cole couldn’t imagine beauty surviving in a place like that.
“My room had a window, high up. I couldn’t reach it to look out, but I could see the branches of a tree outside it. Every season brought a gift—buds bursting out of their shells, thick green leaves with birds flitting between them, the breathtaking colors of fall, snow drifting softly from the sky to land on the bare branches and glisten in the moonlight. Every one of those sights was even more beautiful in contrast to the ugliness of what was happening on my side of the glass. They gave me hope that one day there would be beauty in my life again, and that hope helped me to survive.”
Even in the midst of all that has happened in the world this year, moments of great beauty have taken place. Front line workers showing unfathomable courage, strangers being kind to one another, unprecedented global unity in the pursuit of treatments and vaccines, and account after account of indescribable rainbows, sunsets, and other breathtaking sights in nature. Those moments are God’s gift to us, a reminder that he is still sovereign and he has not abandoned us.
That beauty gives us hope that one day, if not on earth then in heaven, all fear, anxiety, uncertainty, illness, controversy, division, and financial hardship will be gone forever. As it says in Revelation 21:3b-4 (NIV): “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
This Advent season, may you experience moments of beauty in the midst of whatever else may be going on in your life or in the world. And may that beauty fill you with the hope, peace, and joy that the birth of that tiny baby brought into the world that night.
Sara Davison is the author of three romantic suspense series—The Seven Trilogy, The Night Guardians, and The Rose Tattoo Trilogy. She has been a finalist for ten national writing awards, including Best New Canadian Christian author, a Carol, a Selah, and two Daphne du Maurier Awards for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. She is a Word and Cascade Award winner. She currently resides in Ontario, Canada with her husband Michael and their three children. The words on the mug she uses every morning pretty much sum up her life—I just want to sleep, drink coffee, and make stuff up. Get to know Sara better at www.saradavison.org and @sarajdavison.
The tip the stranger left sent Nicole a painfully clear message.
The past is no longer in the past.
Detective Daniel Grey is back in town, and diner owner Nicole Hunter isn’t sure how she feels about that. It’s been almost seven years, and now she doesn’t just have herself to think about but her six-year-old son as well. If she does find the courage to take a chance on love, her heart could be smashed into pieces. Again.
And it’s not only her heart that is in danger. Someone is working hard to disrupt her present with reminders of the past she has worked hard to forget, especially her darkest memory—of the night her husband was gunned down in the street in front of her. As much as she might want to push Daniel away, Nicole needs him closer now than ever before.
But the one she trusts to keep her and her son safe has a secret that may prove to be the biggest threat of all.
The audio book version of Guarded is now available!
