Joseph & a new year.

I have been in a funk, a writing funk, and a long one at that.

I guess I have felt like I haven’t had much to say. But really, I am sure I’ve had plenty to say but I haven’t wanted to pull it out of me and put it on paper. I haven’t felt like  it was worth sharing.

I’m back though. Because for one, I am at the beach with my family right now and the weather has been coaxing us inside. And for two, I had a friend text me the other day encouraging me to keep writing.

And that’s what I really needed – encouragement.

To know that my words are reaching someone…

Yes, Hallelujah!

So today I want to tell you about Joseph, the Joseph that is the father of Jesus.

The Sunday before Christmas I went to the church that is home for me. I love it there and I never leave without wanting to know more about His word. We talked about Joseph, when he found out that the woman whom he was engaged was pregnant. Joseph probably found out through the rumor mill and it was pretty disgracing news. Being engaged back then was way more serious than it is today. You did not break off engagements, for any reason. From the outside it looked like Joseph either got Mary pregnant or she cheated on him with another suitor. Either way, it makes Joseph look bad.

Now if I were Joseph, I would have been pissed. Angry that I did not get the information from Mary, angry that people think I am unfaithful to the law, angry that Mary must have had sex with someone else. Joseph had the power to accuse a man for sleeping with Mary and to have him stoned.

Praise the Lord Joseph did not react in anger like I would have. Praise the Lord that Joseph chose grace, acceptance, and loyalty.

Now we don’t have any recorded words from Joseph. We just have actions. His actions speak plenty loudly.

He acts in a way that reeks of Jesus. Joseph was a faithful man. He spent time with God, hours and minutes out of his day were set aside for God. The Lord cultivated him and Joseph bore fruit.

I think we all can admit that we want to be better at something or for something to come more naturally to us. Like I want to naturally put others before myself, and I want to stop biting my fingernails, and I want to be more grateful, and, and…

Joseph didn’t will his way into becoming this guy that takes anger and magically turns it into grace and selflessness. What he does isn’t a ‘works’ thing. He doesn’t “try” to be this forgiving loving guy. What he does just speaks to who he was and who God was in him. Our actions speak to the substance of who we are.

I look at Joseph and I hear the Lord saying, “He has been with me, Katie. That’s it. He learned how to extend grace like that from me. I have prepared him for this day because he has come to me in obedience time and time again. Remember that I am the one that fills your desires, I am the one that sustains you and nurtures you and enables you to bare good fruit. Come to me and I will make you better”

So as we are all thinking about goals and resolutions and who we want to be in 2014, I pray that we would just spent more time with our Lord in 2014. I pray that we would know that He is the only thing that can truly change us and make us new.