Four Ladies Leaping

 

Behold, a virgin shall be with child,

and shall bring forth a son,

and they shall call his name Emmanuel,

which being interpreted is,

God with us.

— Matthew 1:23

             

            The week before Christmas, a few of us went out for a nice lunch at a local country club. Near us there was another table of regal, older women in fancy suits, with pearl necklaces and society-matron hairdos.

 

            I don't know what they were talking about. But we were lamenting the horrible mall shooting in Omaha that took nine lives. We were also expressing our appreciation for all the positive things that were happening as a result of people's response to the tragedy. Firm in the belief that good always triumphs over evil, we each shared things we were going to do, too, to help young people in the coming year.

 

            Then it was time to rush off. I dashed to my car and checked calls on my "CrackBerry" while the car warmed up. Here's how my friend describes what happened next:

 

            "I looked over to see you quickly backing out of your parking space in your big Suburban - tra la la la la . . . . boom da boom da boom . . . but those four older ladies in their fur coats happened to have come out of the club and were standing there, talking, right between your car and a tall snowbank! You couldn't see them because you have so much 'fur' on your windows with all the snow and slush.

 

            "But when you suddenly starting backing up, they were trapped!

 

"As your car lurched toward them, they were scrambling and pushing each other and screaming and jumping. Their eyes were as big as dishes.

 

            "And I was going, 'Ohhhhhh, Susan!!!'"

 

            After JUST piously proclaiming how much I LOVE people . . .

 

. . . and WAILING about the shocking mass murder in my placid hometown . . .

 

. . . HERE I AM, ABOUT TO CAUSE ONE ALMOST AS BAD!!!

 

Yeah, it wasn't on purpose. But they'd have been just as dead.

 

            My friend tried to soften the blow: "Well, you gave them the gift of the Christmas spirit! They were . . . ELECTRIFIED!!!

 

            "Miraculously, your car stopped, about a foot away. They didn't even have to leap into the snowbank in their high heels. Plus, you gave them an exciting story to tell Bridge Club!"

 

            I rocketed out of my car and begged their forgiveness. They were gracious. All was well.

 

It was like a new verse of that old song, The 12 Days of Christmas - "Four Ladies Leaping"!

 

            But it was also a reminder of something very precious: God's presence in our everyday lives.

 

            I know exactly what made me move my foot from the gas to the brake at that split-second, and spare those ladies. Not what, but Who: Emmanuel, God with us.

 

That's His thing. That's what He does.

 

I can't wait to get to heaven to find out all the OTHER times He has slammed on the brakes or hit the gas for me in various ways in my life, to protect me and others, and make our lives better.

 

            The older I get, and the more I experience the heights and depths of everyday life, the more I relax, because I know Emmanuel is at the wheel. He's God. That's His thing.

 

When events swerve from terribly wrong to wonderfully right in our lives, that's Emmanuel - God with us. That's easy to see.

 

What's hard - very hard - impossibly hard, for some people - is to see that, when things go from right to wrong -- even terribly, terribly wrong -- Emmanuel is there, too.

 

He's there to help us through, and make things even better in the long run. Trust Him. He'll do it.

 

In fact, that's the thing I worship Him for, more than anything. God is greatest when He's turning bad into good. Even lousy-awful-horribl-bad into good. He does that. Lots!

 

Look at the manger scene, and how that lowly birth turned out, saving the world. Not bad!

 

That's God. That's just Him.

 

Through excruciating pain and exhausting sickness, through outrageous injustice and accidents that snatch away loved ones in the blink of an eye, God is with us through those times. Not only with us, but at work, to turn things around. It isn't always, or even often, instantaneous. It usually takes a long, long time.

 

But just wait. Watch. See. And believe.

 

Yes, it's difficult to understand His perfect planning in our lives when outright tragedy or mere irritating adversity strike.

 

But there's one thing I know:

 

You can trust the Christmas Child to make it come out for your good, eventually. He really will.

 

That's why I love Christmas. That's what I celebrate.

 

For all those who are going through a trial, or who will have to face one in the coming year . . . or who might ever be around me and my car . . . rejoice:

 

God is with us. Jesus is born. The Savior has come. Hallelujah! Amen! †