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Emmanuel by Jessica Sheets My son is smack-dab in the middle of the "I can do it by myself" phase of being a toddler. The other night, I was getting him ready for bed, and he insisted that he could take his shirt off "all by himself." I went about some other business while he worked on his project. A minute later, I looked into the bathroom and saw that his shirt was half way off and his arms were so twisted around over his head that you couldn't even tell which was which. I attempted to help, and he (not so calmly) uttered those six little words that all mothers love to hear at the end of a long day..."I can do it by myself!" Now it was obvious to me that he most certainly did NOT have the situation under control. But in his three-year-old mind, he did not want me touching him, much less assisting with the shirt. After another minute or so of struggling (and probably losing all circulation in his arms) he finally let me help and the shirt came off. I was reminded of that situation tonight, when I thought about how so many people are wandering through this life trying to make it on their own...or how many times I act as if I am actually capable of handling this life of mine. We get all tangled up in our worries and frustrations and stupid choices. Maybe we are too proud or embarrassed to ask for help. Or maybe we are afraid that if we go to God, we will have to really open up a part of ourselves that we would prefer to keep locked up. And therefore we often just "go through the motions" of day-to-day living, assuming that this is just the way things have to be. That makes me think about this holiday season. If there is one thing that I think God wants us to remember, it is the promise that we are not alone. Christmas is when it all started...when God came to be with us. In fact, that's one of the words that we see in churches all over the place this time of the year-Emmanuel, which means "God with us." You see, God's people all through the Old Testament were waiting for Jesus...the Messiah. They knew that, one day, He was coming to be with His people and to set them free. Can you imagine what that first Christmas was like for the people who knew what it was really about? Can you imagine being Mary and Joseph on that long journey to Bethlehem? I was over seven months pregnant the Christmas before my son was born, and it certainly gave me a whole new respect for Mary. I'm just impressed that she could even get on a donkey, much less ride one for days...and then give birth in a cave! So my mind can't even conceive what must have been going on deep in her heart and emotions! She just birthed the Son of God, the Savior of mankind, into the world. And when the angels and shepherds arrive...that's not just to make the nativity scene in our front yard complete. They came to worship Him. The One that they had talked about and been waiting for...he had finally arrived!! As humans, we understand this a little when a child is born. Parents have been waiting and planning for at least a good nine months. The Jews, however, had been waiting for hundreds of years...and He was finally here! What an incredibly glorious night! We have heard the story of Jesus' birth so many times than we often become numb to it and just see it as "the Christmas story." But it is such an amazing event that completely changes lives even today. He didn't just stay on earth for 33 years, conquer hell and death, and then leave. He sent His spirit to us. The very essence of who God is and the power that is in Him...that is still with us today! He is walking with us, talking to and guiding us, reminding us how much we are loved-all the time! We simply have to believe it. We have to believe that the miracle that happened in a little town of Bethlehem is alive and living with us. We have so much to celebrate this season. And even if life has been hard (and for some I know it has been incredibly difficult), we are never without a reason to rejoice. That doesn't take away the pain, but it does offer a peace and hope in the midst of it. So this Christmas, maybe we could spend a little extra time with him and begin to let go of some of those struggles that we want to handle "all by ourselves." He is a very patient Father, and He will wait lovingly for us to come to Him. Let's just remember that He is here and, because of what happened on the first Christmas, we are never alone. As "heaven and nature sing" their praises to Him, let's join them and worship the One who came...just to be with us.