school is over

I had my last day of class yesterday- and then I went to tutoring :) and then, I went to a great concert (some selections from the Messiah)
It has been a weird week- busy and running from one thing to the next- and yet, in some way one that begs for reflection. I think that when you experience Christmas in a place that doesn't really experience Christmas, it makes you reflective. I mean, in the states you see Christmas everywhere. So Christmas is the songs playing (like Santa Baby and The Gift) blasting in the mall, or the lights on houses, or the cookies and special parties, the trees, etc. etc. But living in a place that doesn't really have any of those (don't worry, I did hear Santa Baby on the radio the other day! i am not that pathetic!) but not having these things that "make Christmas" makes me have to think about what Christmas is. And the fact that God decided to become man- Woah!
THe incarnation changes everything....there was this poem somewhere that I read, that said Christmas is the birth of Grace. I thought at first that this was wrong...I mean, grace existed in the OT- but the more I think about it. I think, no, grace existed in the OT because Jesus was going to be born. It is only in the birth of grace, this little baby that was "born to give us second birth" born to give us an eternity in a world where the curse is reversed- that there is no sin, there is no pain- there is grace at every turn. It is this time every year where we celebrate the birth of Grace- the incarnation of God so that even the most mundane tasks (like brushing our teeth) can be redeemed- because Jesus is human! and He lived a human existence and now lives in a human body at the right hand of the Father awaiting His return to redeem humanity!
Yes, this is a time for busy-ness- and a time of reflection.