All The Wonder, None of the Worry

One of my favorite holiday traditions is to make myself a hot cup of tea, turn on the Christmas lights, sit at my beloved piano, and play Christmas music. It is such mental and spiritual therapy for me as I flip through pages and play some of my favorites from memory. One of my favorite pieces is “I Wonder as I Wander,” written by John Jacob Niles, based on a song fragment he heard while traveling in the Southern Appalachians. My parents were from this region, and the melody carries that haunting tune of the scotch Irish tradition of those who settled in that area. I had been thinking the previous day, praying about the last blog for the year, knowing it would be on the passages about worry. Sitting at the piano, I realized how much worry can impact the spirit of wonder. The song’s words reflect the pilgrim going under the sky and being taken by the wonder that “Jesus would come to die for poor onery sinners like you and me. ” Though these words lack the pageantry of Christmas, no tinsel or silver bells, they capture that the true wonder of Christmas is found in the recognition that He came to rescue us all… amid our wanderings.

A few years back, Erin and I put together a work of poetry and photography about the wonder of Christmas. It tries to convey that all of creation, excluding mankind, prepared and celebrated the arrival of the King of Glory, which would mean our days of spiritual wandering were coming to an end as Jesus would point the way back home to the Father. He would do this first through the miracle of the virgin birth, followed by His revelational teaching and miracles. Our salvation would be secured by His surrender to the cross and celebrated when He came out of the tomb. It is good to be reminded that this is the wonder of Christmas! But if I am not careful, the wonder and amazement of what the ultimate Christmas gift truly is can be swallowed up by worry as I wander through life. Jesus knew this about us all when he shared in His greatest sermon that worry will only take from us and give nothing in return except heartache and more worry. He states, “Tomorrow will take care of itself.” Reminding me worry is selfish, consuming, and indulgent. Worry is a betrayer. Always asking for more and leaving nothing but more worry in its place. Tomorrow won’t care for me… God will. Today and every day! 

This is a time of year when worry is a frequent guest, invites itself in, stays too long, and keeps us up at night. If you are like me, I often reflect on the past year. I think of the goals I set and, of course, worry that I didn’t meet all of them… some of them, etc. I remember the losses I faced and wonder what 2024 will bring. As I bake, I worry that butter and sugar are 2 or 3 times more expensive than last year and wonder how large families are getting by. Will I get what I have planned done? Will I complete my unrealistic To-do Christmas list after all? As the song says, “A few of my favorite things”… to worry about. But thanks be to God, we have received good tidings of great joy! We can rest and be merry, for the wonder of Christmas is able to carry us through the whole year.

Jesus told us not to worry about our wardrobe, for our God clothed the lilies of the fields! Not to be consumed by our pantry, for our Heavenly Father keeps track of every sparrow and their feeding schedule. Jesus emphasizes how much more critical I am to He and the Father than even these. I am at the top of God’s Christmas list! I can experience the beauty of the wonder of His care. I don’t have to understand it, and I have learned it is best not to overanalyze it. I just need to trust it!

I take comfort in the fact that Christ acknowledges that we have needs, which are a reality. But the greater reality doesn’t lie in how great my need is but in how great God’s ability and power to meet my need is. 

This Christmas, as I look at war-torn lands, failing economies, prevailing evil, sickness, and natural disasters, I can easily lose any sense of wonder that God has blessed me with. Being mindful of the world and its problems doesn’t require me to abandon the wonder of Jesus, but rather, that wonder can drive me to my knees to intercede, to ask to be used to help where

 I can. My heart can be filled with thanksgiving, for I serve God, who, as His son proclaims, “knows you have need”. Every time worry comes knocking about what may or could happen or, will there be enough, will I be enough? I can exchange it for wonder. I can utter through the crack in the door my confession that God knows about my need! The wounds of lousy news are best tended to by the tidings of comfort and joy. Let nothing we dismay. Remember, Christ our Savior was born on Christmas day. To save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray! 

Jesus, let me embrace the comfort your salvation brings! Remind me of your sovereignty. Lord, take my old fleshly friend to worry and put a child-like wonder of your amazing grace and care in its place. Lord, as I wander through this life, let my heart choose wonder over worry every time.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from this vineyard and pray you will be reminded that God’s word is the way through as we wander into 2024 should the Lord will it!