Love Makes Room

by Nicole Longnecker

It was the spring of 1949 and she was barely nineteen.  Her dark hair had been set fashionably in rollers, her blue eyes sparkling with fun, a distinct waddle to her walk.  As she perched on the exam table, the doctor frowned at her, his brows knitting together.  “Mrs. Keim, as I told you before, you have gained entirely too much weight. This is very serious.  We will need to admit you to the hospital and put you on a strict diet.”  I can only imagine the shame she felt, a first time mother, being told she was already doing it all wrong. 

They did admit her to the hospital.  And after feeding her next to nothing for several days, she gained two more pounds.  The superior doctor was astonished.  His plan to get her back on track had utterly failed.  So he ordered an x-ray.  And there it was, in black and white on film, the cause of all her additional weight gain. 

Not one baby, but two. 

Shame turned to wonder.  Surprise.  And trepidation, of course. 

And my grandmother did something remarkable, to my 21st century mind.  She emptied a dresser drawer.  In the tiny cottage where the young couple lived, there was no room and certainly no money for a crib, or even a cradle.  She had already prepared the drawer for baby number one, and now, she simply cleared another for baby number two. 

Now, it certainly wasn’t the immaculate conception, and this was Bellingham, not Bethlehem, but something about my grandmother’s preparation takes me back to the Christmas story. 

It was so simple for her to make room. 

We call it progress, the way we curate and Instagram and Pinterest and prepare the perfect Christmas.  Somehow, our lives seem to transition from receiving the wonder of all that the season is, to feeling that we have a responsibility to engineer the wonder.  It’d be the equivalent of learning about that second baby (two days before they were delivered over a month early, as this family epic goes!) clearing an entire room, painting and decorating and spending thousands on a new set of baby furniture, in a hurry, before the little ones could arrive. 

But Christmas didn’t come that way in Bethlehem.  It came to two impoverished teenagers on a journey, and it comes to us, as our kids argue in the backseat, cocoa in hand, while we drive around looking at Christmas lights.  It comes to us when the Christmas tree tips over in the living room…again.  It comes to us when the cookies burn and sickness derails our holiday plans.  It comes to us as we let go of the expectations we put on ourselves to eke every bit of meaning and fun and beauty out of the season. 

It comes as we sit in the quiet and read God’s words and wait for the news of His coming to dawn on our hearts.  It comes as we look for Him- Savior.  Counselor.  Father.  Our Wholeness, our Peace.  God with us. It comes as we gaze long into the face of a baby boy and begin to see all that God has done- for us. 

We make Him room.  In simple ways.  In honest ways, as we reflect on the wonder of His love for us.  God sent His Son, a fragile baby, into a complicated and messy world, into the midst of us.  He didn’t shy away from our brokenness. The Holy One loved us enough to submit to all the agony of life here on earth- for us.  With us.  

God SO loved us. 

And He has loved us in such a way that, as we absorb the beauty of it, as we understand the greatness of His love, something about it compels us to reach out in love to others. 

We make them room, too. 

“We, though, are going to love- love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love.  He loved us first.”  I John 4:19 MSG

He loved us first- so we could welcome one more baby in a dresser drawer.  One more friend around the table this Christmas season.  One more family member that isn’t always the easiest to love. 

So that we could stretch our hearts open more than we could possibly do on our own. 

And Love could fill every room.  

Pray and Reflect on:

“God is love.  Whoever lives in love, lives in God, and God in them.  This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world, we are like Jesus.  There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.  The one who fears is not made perfect in love.  We love because He first loved us.”  I John 4:16-19

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.”  John 3:16-17 ESV

“For while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.  For one will scarcely die for a righteous person- though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die- but God shows His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Romans 5:6-8 ESV

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8:38-39 ESV

Reflections

1.  Is there something you need to let go of this season in order to make room for God’s love? 

2.  Is there an area of brokenness you are currently experiencing where you need healing?  Ask God to meet you there. 

3.  Does your Christmas season look different than you were expecting or hoping this year?  How can you give your expectations to God and allow Him to work in your heart through your current reality? 

4. How can you show love to someone in your life as a reflection of how God has loved you?