From Waiting to Wonder

"If Advent is the season of waiting, Christmas is a season of wonder."

Living the Christian year: Time to Inhabit the Story of God by Bobby Gross (p. 64)

See the look of "wonder" on her face?!

Merry Christmas!  

It's full of firsts!  

This is our first Christmas in Malawi. 

The first Christmas I applied sunscreen before heading out to church.

The first Christmas away from family.

The first Christmas without a real Christmas tree.

The first Christmas we prayed for rain instead of snow.

The first Christmas we were sweating because of heat and humidity rather than a wood fire.

The first Christmas I've given rice, groundnuts and corn flour as a gift.
The first Christmas my fruit salad was dominated by pineapple and mango rather than apples.

It's been a joy-filled day of celebration of the birth of Jesus, our King, our Savior.  That is the same!

We light the Christ candle in the middle of the Advent wreath on Christmas!
(I think you are then not supposed to light the other four, but I like them lit :)

In between the busyness of baking cookies, preparing special foods and hiding gifts (with wrapping paper fairly expensive, we got creative with a scavenger hunt!), I've been thinking about Jesus.

The incarnation (God coming to physically be with us as one of us) is a wondrous mystery.  "The Word became flesh and lived among us." John 1:14.  Why would God do such a thing as to leave the splendor and comfort of heaven an stoop way down to earth to be with us -- a wayward people?  Sure, He made us, but we are constantly turning from looking at Him to looking at our own selfish ways of doing things.  He did it because although we ignore or even avoid our heavenly Father God, He still loves us.  The way I think about it, the incarnation is God's way of saying Hey, remember me?  I'm your Daddy and I still love you.  Let me live with you.  Let me teach you.  Let me love you in everyday and miraculous ways.  Don't run away, I still love you.  I'm here, please come sit by me.

What?!?  Is that really God saying and doing such things? God who dreamed up making this world and all that is in it, ending with His proudest creation, man and woman?  Yep.  Because man and women didn't stay faithful to Him, He reached down to make a way for things to be right again because although it hurt Him for people to turn away from Him, He still loved them.  He still loves us.

There were many people who were actually waiting for a Savior to come make things right.  God had sent messengers to tell people He promised to send a Savior who would make a way of reconciliation with God possible.  Year after year, decade after decade, generation after generation passed as people kept watch and waited for this Messiah to come -- not knowing how or when or who -- with just a few clues to go on.  That is why Advent, the time leading up to Christmas, is a season of waiting.  Jesus' coming was anticipated for a long time.  A long time that was hard to wait!  One of my favorite Advent hymns says it well:

Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus

This red flower bloomed in our yard between Christmas Eve
and Christmas day. Although it's not the poinsettia we are used
to seeing at Christmas, the color red reminds us of Jesus'
reason for coming to earth - to set us free by dieing in our place,
forgiving us for all our wrongs and making us right with Him.

By Charles Wesley (1745)

Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set your people free;
from our fears and sins release us;
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.

Born your people to deliver,
born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever,
now your gracious kingdom bring.
By your own eternal Spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by your all sufficient merit
raise us to your glorious throne.

She was free to run through the grass without shoes!
What an expression of freedom on her face.
To come to Jesus as a child is part of the wonder to which we are called.

Why do we have joy at Christmas?  Because Jesus, although just born, has come to set us free!
What do you need to be set free from this Christmas season? What joy do you have?

Take some time (only 3 minutes) to view the history of waiting for the long expected Jesus in this really neat video by The Skit Guys.  It is worth a few views as it has some evolving artwork depicting the biblical story to Christ's birth.  It really ties history together.  Soak it in and REJOICE!

Advent Week 3: Mbatata Cookies

Last week I said Malawians don't have Christmas cookies.  Well, that's partially correct. There is a cookie that is commonly prepared using sweet potatoes, but it is made year round, or so my Malawian friend tells me.  We decided to make Mbatata (sweet potato) cookies as part of our Christmas cookie baking this year to see what they taste like!

Sweet potatoes are actually ranked as the most nutritious vegetables out there...way above broccoli or spinach!  (sweet potato nutrition and more interesting info).  I have heard of campaigns in Africa promoting the eating of one sweet potato a day to boost nutrition intake.  This is particularly important in a diet consisting mostly of maize (corn), vegetable relish using pumpkin leaves and tomatoes, rice and beans and hopefully some meat or groundnuts.  These cookies use very little sugar, which cuts down on the cost of making them.  So, with that in mind, let's head to the kitchen to bake some sweet potato cookies! :)  Disclaimer: cookies have added ingredients and are not as healthy as just eating a baked sweet potato!

Rachel ate some of the extra sweet potato
while she watched us make the cookies.
She liked it, but enjoyed the cookies better!

Micah enjoyed using the "grown up" rolling pin for the first time!
He's used to his Play Doh rolling pin.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato (any variety)
1/4 cup milk
4 Tbsp melted butter
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
4 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. Mix (baked and cooled) sweet potato, milk and melted butter.  Beat well.
3. Sift and stir in remaining ingredients.
4. Refrigerate (well, I didn't and they turned out fine).
5. Turn onto floured surface, knead lightly and roll out 1/2 inch thick.
6. Cut with cookie cutters and place on greased cookie sheet.
7. Optional:  top with cinnamon and sugar
8. Bake 15 minutes.

 This recipe made about 18 cookies...and they're hard to stop eating, so I think we'll make a double recipe next time!

Ready for the oven! (cookies)
Ready to eat some! (Micah)

 Malawi is known as the "Warm heart of Africa" because of how friendly and welcoming Malawian people are.  For this reason, every recipe I've found for these cookies has encouraged making them in heart shapes.  We also added Christmas trees, stars and "wreaths" to our cookie sheet for Christmas.

Mmmm....yum!

Advent Week 2: Move Over Santa...

When I was really little, I believed in Santa Claus. Yes, I left cookies and milk and fell asleep in the big rocking chair in the living room waiting to meet him when he came bearing presents for our family.  However, as I grew up a bit, by the time I was in late elementary school, I had grown to somewhat despise Santa. I had figured out (or was told on the playground) that he was a fake and I got mad that he was stealing the true meaning and emphasis of Christmas – the birth of Jesus, our Savior! Needless to say, I’ve never gotten into decorating for Christmas with a Santa theme or wearing a Santa hat to celebrate the coming of my King. 

A card we made.

As I’ve grown up even more, I’ve come to learn about St. Nicholas, the real guy who lived and worshiped the same Jesus I think Santa Claus has distracted the world from seeing.  December 6^th is St. Nicholas Day, a day to remember who St. Nicholas was.  I remembered this part-way through the morning on Monday (Dec. 6^th), so with very little forethought, our family jumped into celebrating this special day.  I dug out a children’s book I had brought along that explains that St. Nick was actually a very kind, generous man who sought to live his life serving others, particularly those who did not have enough.  Enough food, enough money, enough clothing…enough in the sense of surviving and thriving in life -- not enough presents to feel happy (as the materialistic Santa leads us to believe we deserve). 

After reading this book to Micah (a few times in a row, as any toddler will beg), we continued talking about what it means to do nice things for people in secret.  St. Nicholas always gave in secret so as not to be discovered for his good deeds.  Of course, sometimes he was “caught” and enough people shared stories of his generosity that after he died, the Church recognized him as a saint for what a good example of Christian living he was to the world, but I can still appreciate his effort to be anonymous.

We added homemade star ornaments
to our tree this week.  We used egg
cartons, paint and red thread.

On Monday and Thursday mornings we have a Malawian woman come to help with housework.  We hired her to help with the dishes, cleaning the floors, scrubbing the bathrooms, hanging the laundry, baking bread, holding Rachel out of the way while Jonathan and I attempt to wash the dog…the list varies from week to week, but I am so thankful for her work!  I like to share our traditions with her and learn about hers.  Last week I explained the Advent wreath I had made and she said that her church has one too.  This week I told her about St. Nicholas Day…she had never heard of Santa Claus*, let alone St. Nicholas.  If you’re reading from North America, it is unheard of not to have heard of Santa Claus!  But, step into her shoes for a minute.  She’s grown up in Malawi and probably hasn’t traveled outside the country which is around the size of Pennsylvania.  Although she lives in a city, she most often shops in the open air markets for vegetables and rice or maize to mill into flour for nsima. Celebrating Christmas consists of going to church for a special celebration of Jesus’ birth with extra singing and maybe even dancing, and if she has enough extra money, she’ll share in a feast of extra rice and vegetables and maybe some meat and fruit that day.  No Christmas cookies (no oven), no Christmas tree (that’s a pretty western idea), no Christmas lights (electricity is expensive and may not reach her house) and maybe even no presents (no extra money for anything beyond food and clothes and maybe school fees for her 5 children).

Micah and I made a “Happy St. Nicholas Day” card that said something to the effect of “May your day be filled with good blessings from our good God.  Micah snuck 2 muffins, freshly baked that morning, next to her bag so she would find them on her way out.  As I explained who St. Nicholas was by saying he was a man who lived out what Jesus said by giving to the poor, I realized I was talking to the poor.  I realized I was talking to a widow.  I realized she did not know what a saint was and had never had Santa Claus distract her in Christmas preparations or celebrations.  I was humbled.

Whenever I have given our house helper a gift like a roll from Thanksgiving or a small bag of popcorn leftover from my birthday, she doesn’t dare eat it then.  She takes it home, no matter how small it is, to share with her children.  It reminds me that many people in Malawi and many, many parts of the world live drastically different from the “normal” middle class lifestyle I am used to.  It makes me think harder about what I buy at the grocery store, what gifts I give to my children and how we decide to give out of our plenty, even when we don’t feel like our plenty is very much.

* Santa Claus is evident here in Malawi, particularly in the super markets and retail stores serving primarily middle class Malawians and expatriates.  Decorations showed up in Shop Rite well over a month ago and there was a day the employees all wore Santa hats.  I've even seen costumes for sale.

Advent Week 1: Beauty & Creativity

Today is the first day of Advent – the season of waiting for the coming of Jesus.  It is filled with expectation, anticipation and excitement.  Advent is just 4 weeks long as we look towards Christmas and the celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, but if we zoom out and look at the Biblical story, there were many, many more centuries of waiting for Christ’s coming!  As kids, it’s hard waiting just 4 weeks till Christmas, but think about 400 years of waiting for a sign from God between where the Old Testament leaves off and the start of the New Testament when Jesus was born!  That, of course, is more than a lifetime! 

This year, we had a countdown to get to Advent, let alone Christmas.  Micah was so excited for Advent to arrive so we could then look forward to Christmas.  Every day one of the first questions as he walked out of his room, still in his pajamas, was “Is it Christmas?”  Finally, today Advent has arrived!  Now he asks "Is it Advent?" 

Many of you know that I (Becky) grew up on a Christmas Tree farm.  Hague’s Christmas Trees, to be precise.  It was there that I learned to make wreaths.  So, given this time of year and being far from my family and the family farm, I’m increasingly homesick.  But, I’m driven to discover the beauty of God’s creation and this season of the church year in a new place.  As I hunted around for evergreens and other things in nature that can symbolize Jesus’ birth, I found comfort.  Not just in the familiarity of gathering plants and arranging them to make beautiful things, but comfort in the steadfastness of God.  He has been with me through each Christmas celebration in a familiar place, surrounded by extended family and friends, and He is with me now in a foreign land with all new people besides my husband and kids.  God is faithful and true in each place and phase of life.

So, although it is averaging between 80-90 degrees Fahrenheit here most days and hopefully getting hotter soon (did I just say that?!?!) so that the rains will come, we are decorating for Christmas!  I’ll admit it feels a bit strange, yet strangely normal as we pull out the few familiar ornaments we brought along and dig out the decorations that have been left in this house by previous missionaries.  Of course, we will not, for the first time EVER, have a REAL Christmas tree, but given the climate and circumstances, I think I’ll be pardoned by my family for this “season” of life.  We were able to secure a few branches of evergreens from some tall trees at a friend’s house to make an Advent wreath…and I brought along a “Sparkling Pine” scented Yankee candle so that it can at least smell like the wreath barn back home.  (I actually started smelling it months ago. Because of how hot it is, it gave off fragrance without even being lit!)

This year, since Micah is 3 (and a half!), we are able to do more coherent family devotions throughout Advent.  This is very exciting!  Not only because we can do something together as a family each day to remind us of Christ’s coming to earth because He loves us, but because Micah is understanding who God is and why we celebrate Jesus rather than fixating on gift giving and receiving (which can be a very healthy part of Christmas celebrations, don’t get me wrong, it’s just not the be-all, end-all of what Christmas is all about).  Symbols, like gifts, are an important part of celebrating holidays which express my faith.  So, as you decorate this year, I encourage you to think about what symbols you have around you and what they remind you of as you “walk” to Bethlehem to meet this newborn King, Jesus. 

Here are some symbols we have this year:

Evergreen wreath – Green symbolizes life.  Evergreens remain green through hot and cold weather, unlike any other tree, which reminds us of God’s faithfulness.  The circle is never ending, just like God’s love for us.

Seed pods – These are dropping from trees everywhere !  The pods on our wreath this year remind me of open arms – the posture I picture God in as He gives the gift of Christ to the world and the posture of those who believe as they receive the gift of His love and salvation.  Seed pods are also the way new trees/plants are planted.  We are reminded by them to continue telling others about Jesus, “planting” the seeds of good news!

Red leaves – Red is a symbol of Jesus.  Even at Christmas, when we celebrate his birth, we remember why he came to earth – to die in our place, to take the punishment we deserve for turning away from God.  Jesus’ redeeming blood gives us new life. 

Candles – We use candles at Christmas to represent Christ, our light, the light of the whole world. John 8:12 is quoting Jesus: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” One of my favorite verses of all time, 1 John 1:5 says “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.”   ***Go ahead, pretend you’re in Malawi during one of our many power outages: Turn out all your lights (yes, all of them) and light a candle. Then light some more…it’s quite striking how very much light can come from just one, but then, as more join it, how glorious! When all you have is darkness, light is very attractive! Jesus is that light in the darkness of the world around us. And he wants us to be that light, too! ***

Stars – If you look around the candles in our wreath, you’ll find more seed pods, but they are in the shape of stars!  God’s beauty is all around us, just keep looking for it!  I found these in the gutters around our house (gutters are on the ground here) and was just delighted to find such intricate beauty in something that is dead and falls off trees – yet when planted, grows anew!  Stars remind us of the star that led the wise men to find baby Jesus, even though they weren’t Jewish (those who were expecting a Messiah to come in the first place).  They sought out this King to worship him.  At Christmas, we seek God’s face.  We seek to find God’s love given to us so tangibly through Jesus.  We seek to live out God’s love by loving others.  

Angels – The craft in our Advent devotional book today was to make angel decorations.  These remind us of the messenger God sent to inform Mary that she was pleasing in God’s eyes and would carry the baby Messiah into the world and name him Jesus.  There are more angels to come in this story too, but we’re just on day one today :) Luke 1:26-32.

I love symbolism!  It keeps my celebrations centered and my life alive with meaning.  Yes, I have some ornaments that Micah asks about that don’t evidently fit into the Christmas story at all, like a ball with blue buttons all over it, but ultimately, this reminds me of beauty and creativity.  God delights in beauty and has made us creative beings like Himself.  So, I encourage you to seek and find beauty around you this Advent season – glorify God through your creativity in worshiping Jesus.