Overwhelmed by the Christmas Story: What God Taught Me

There are years I find myself trying to recapture the wonder and the joy of the Christmas story. Not because I forget, but because the chaos that surrounds this holiday season, easily drowns it.

But this year, a year that has turned every single one of our lives upside down, I found myself overwhelmed by the story.

Completely overwhelmed by a Love that covers a multitude of sins, a grace that knows no bounds, a mercy that is never ending and a hope that is unfailing.

He knew that we would kick and scream. He knew that we would fight against Him, that we would deny Him, that we would ignore Him, that we would choose sin and temptation over Him over and over again.

And yet, He came for us.

2020 has not been a surprise to God. Contrary to the TikToks of an intern angel dumping a decade’s worth of history into one year - He was and is well-aware of how this year has gone.

Somewhere in between the beginning of November and decorating for Christmas two weeks before Thanksgiving, I realized that being overwhelmed by this story was exactly what we needed.

We needed the reminder that this Christmas story is the proof that God fulfills His promises. We needed the awe of the story where He does the absolute impossible - a virgin giving birth. We needed to be reminded that the King above all Kings laid His head in a manger because there were no rooms available for Him.

We needed the conviction of this story, a Father who wanted nothing more than to have His children close to Him, but knew they couldn’t do it on their own, so He sent His Son, all powerful God, not simply in human flesh, but completely dependent on someone else - as a baby.

And I think that’s the part that overwhelms me the most.

The way He came.

“And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them at the inn” Luke 2:6-7

He could have come in such a different way, but He didn’t and that overwhelms me.

I have a song that I play on repeat during the Christmas season because the lyrics tug on my heart.

“You could have come like a mighty storm with all the strength of a hurricane, you could have come like a forest fire with the power of heaven in your flame, but you came like a winter snow- quiet, soft, and slow”.

It gets to me every time because honestly? It exhibits just how much He would go through just to bring us to Him.

And when the story overwhelms me, I let the tears stream down my cheeks and His whisper, so strong and certain tells my heart, “And you were so worth it”.

So my prayer for you this Christmas season is that you would be completely overwhelmed by the story you’ve heard hundreds of times, and that you would know - without even a shadow of a doubt that Jesus thinks that capturing YOUR heart would absolutely be worth it.

Merry Christmas, sweet friends.

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About the author: Janine Carattini

Janine is an everyday girl, whose heartbeat is to encourage others to relentlessly pursue Jesus and remind them that they are the ONE Jesus left the 99 to relentlessly pursue after. You can find more from her in her little corner of the world janinecarattini.com or on Instagram @janinecarattini & @therelentlesspursuit_