A Christmas Message

I have had since last summer the wonderful privelege of meeting Wednesday nights with a group of women here in my church called the bow wows. It is an acronym for something but I can't really say what that is, it changes depending on the mood of the group on a particular day.
These are ordinary women who have all the usual things happening in their lives but have an extra-ordinary gift of acceptance, love and healing.
We meet at Susans place. She feeds us dinner. (Do you know how wonderful it is to be cooked for when your whole life is spent cooking for others.) A couple of the women do the dishes then we sit in the living room and Susan reads to us. Am I giving away secrets here? I hope not. We have been reading from a book called Dancing in the arms of God. A very good book for women.
Unfortunately, come January I will not be able to join them as my shift at work will be changing. I wonder how that will be because they have been such a support to me through some rough times in my life. These woman would never consider themselves great prayer warriors but their prayers for my life have been powerful, healing emotionally and physically. God has blessed me through them.
Which brings me to my point. (knew i would get there eventually) There is one thing that is true in the life of every christian, that God's presence in our lives is constant. No matter where we are in our walk, He is with us and will bless us. Life will always have its changes, its seasons. Friendships will come and go but God is present in all of it. The wonderful gift in the birth and death of His Son made that all possible. That is the thing to remember, not just at Christmas but all through the year. We remember that gift through this season but it is given to us again and again throughout the year. Every moment of every day, Emmanuel, God, is with us. Through everything, God is with us. There is such comfort in that. So no matter what life (or death) brings to you,
Emmanuel...God is with us....Emmanuel...
Emmanuel.