God With Us

One of my favorite names of God is "Emmanuel". It means "God with us". He came in human form to be with us! He loves us so much, he wanted to be with us, to experience life as we know it, to understand our hurts, challenges, joys, and feelings. That may be one of the reasons why I love Christmas time so much. God came to us. He came to ME! Really? God wants to be close to me? This boggles my mind and warms my heart. 


The melody and lyrics of a Tommy Walker song have been playing in my heart a lot recently. It's called "He Came" and my home church choir has been rehearsing it for their upcoming concert. You can listen by clicking on the following video. My favorite part is when he sings, "He came to NEVER LEAVE, to HEAL and to REDEEM!" I think the worst feeling in life would be to feel alone. I've felt it. But to believe and know and feel that Jesus is with me and WILL NEVER LEAVE... that makes everything different. He didn't just come for a visit. He didn't just come for a select few. He didn't just come to say, "I'm here. I'm God. Ok, gotta go now." He came to NEVER LEAVE. I need that assurance. I need to know not only that I'm loved beyond anything I can imagine, but that I'm never going to be abandoned. People may fail me, but Jesus won't. 

He's carried me through many past challenging experiences  - some I was aware of, some I wasn't. At one of our earlier ultrasound appointments, I saw Jesus bending over to caress my pregnant tummy. He held it, put his face to it - like He was saying to Anna, "I'm here. I've got you. You are precious to me." And He says that to me as well. 


How can I not praise Him? Yes, I've been through a lot of questioning and pain through this process of carrying Anna. But I'm not alone. HE CAME! I hope this rings true to someone else out there. It feels like I'm having a hard time articulating what I want to convey. I'm just rejoicing in the gift of His presence and want someone to understand that God is good and He loves you so much that HE CAME. 


I want to be aware of His presence with me as we check into the hospital tonight. I want to see Him in the room with me. I want to feel His arms around me. I want to be able to sing the songs that glorify Him and help me feel His presence. 


Emmanuel. What a beautiful name.