Provisions

I went to Costco today to do my big pre-Christmas grocery shop, and the road home was terrifying. The snow was thick and slippery; it was like driving on shortbread dough. Road markings were buried beneath it all and everyone was just doing their best to stay on the road and off of each other.  The one-hour trip home took closer to two hours, and my legs were like jelly when I finally parked in the driveway.

I am fully aware that it is a total overreach, but I felt a oneness with women in the past who had to travel far to buy provisions, and bring them back to their families at great personal risk.  

(And you know what? They'd be so glad. That the grandchildren of their grandchildren have grandchildren who can drive to get provisions, an abundance of provisions.)

And I was thinking about what provisions God made for Jesus' coming into the world. And Mary brought swaddling clothes to Bethlehem for the baby's birth, but what did God provide? 

And when I realized what He provided, it made my heart so happy. 

You guys.

The provisions God made for Jesus, the things he planned and prepared in order to welcome him that first Christmas ... were people.

He gave him Mary.

He gave him Joseph.

He gave him the wise men and shepherds and Anna and Simeon.

The important provisions we need for Christmas are not things ... they are people. People. 

We are the provisions for each other at Christmas. He gives us each other. He gives us parents and friends and children and colleagues and neighbours and family.

We're the provisions.

With so much love for you, my friends. xo.