A Little Holiday Grace
At one point in time, I tried to host a podcast. It was a short-lived project, as I only got in about four episodes. I enjoyed doing it, but then life happened and I shut the idea down. I say all that to bring up a concept I had thought up, called “My Wife’s Thoughts.” In this pod segment, I stuck my microphone into my wife’s face and asked for her thoughts on some sports topic to see what she might be able to come up with. It’s a common occurence in our partnership, me mimicing this sideline sports charade.
But then my wife came to me this Christmas Eve and said she had some thoughts and she wanted to pen them out. I said “I have a blog! We’ll post it there!” And as we are prone to saying in our household—“it’s all about the brand.” So now, I present to you all, in a special Christmas Eve post on my blog—the Castello’s blog, My Wife’s Thoughts:
This Christmas we have gone to two church services. The first, this morning, with Matt’s family at their church where we helped to light the fourth advent candle—the candle of love. At this service, the Christmas story was read from Luke Chapter 2.
This year, expecting our first child I think has given me an interesting thought and perspective for today. Hearing the story this morning brought tears to my eyes as Matt and I spend quite a bit of our time planning, and sometimes stressing, over bringing a child into the world and doing everything we can to provide for her. Thinking about Mary, a pregnant mother, who was assumedly at least eight months pregnant riding on the back of a donkey for miles, having no idea where they were going to stay sounds so daunting to me. Then, as they arrived at their destination, the only place they could find to stay was in a barn where she labored and gave birth to her child, among hay, among animals, with nowhere but a manger to place her child. It really puts things in perspective this holiday season for me that as we prepare for our baby girl to come into this world, that if Jesus, the son of God, was born in a barn that the love we can provide and the home that we provide for our precious baby girl can and will be enough.
The second service we went to was at the church that has become our home parish in Greenville. In the homily, the priest preached on the fact that God made the world and it was good, then he made man and it was good, then we messed up and that sin was brought into the world because of it. But that through a precious baby, hope is brought back into the world.
This, again, brings me to the thought of our own baby girl. The hope of the world rests in the innocence of a pure child. I was recently asked how we chose the name of our daughter, Grace, and whether it was a family name or something we just liked. While it is not a family name and I did respond that it is a name we like, there is so much more to it than that.
Matt and I have been extremely blessed by God in our lives and feel that this baby girl is the perfect representation of God’s love and Grace in our lives. Also, it couldn’t be any more perfect that my due date, her possible birthday, is April 1st. Many laugh at this, but this year April 1st is Easter—which I do not see as any coincidence. But instead an even more perfect representation of God’s Grace in our lives.
But then my wife came to me this Christmas Eve and said she had some thoughts and she wanted to pen them out. I said “I have a blog! We’ll post it there!” And as we are prone to saying in our household—“it’s all about the brand.” So now, I present to you all, in a special Christmas Eve post on my blog—the Castello’s blog, My Wife’s Thoughts:
This Christmas we have gone to two church services. The first, this morning, with Matt’s family at their church where we helped to light the fourth advent candle—the candle of love. At this service, the Christmas story was read from Luke Chapter 2.
This year, expecting our first child I think has given me an interesting thought and perspective for today. Hearing the story this morning brought tears to my eyes as Matt and I spend quite a bit of our time planning, and sometimes stressing, over bringing a child into the world and doing everything we can to provide for her. Thinking about Mary, a pregnant mother, who was assumedly at least eight months pregnant riding on the back of a donkey for miles, having no idea where they were going to stay sounds so daunting to me. Then, as they arrived at their destination, the only place they could find to stay was in a barn where she labored and gave birth to her child, among hay, among animals, with nowhere but a manger to place her child. It really puts things in perspective this holiday season for me that as we prepare for our baby girl to come into this world, that if Jesus, the son of God, was born in a barn that the love we can provide and the home that we provide for our precious baby girl can and will be enough.
The second service we went to was at the church that has become our home parish in Greenville. In the homily, the priest preached on the fact that God made the world and it was good, then he made man and it was good, then we messed up and that sin was brought into the world because of it. But that through a precious baby, hope is brought back into the world.
This, again, brings me to the thought of our own baby girl. The hope of the world rests in the innocence of a pure child. I was recently asked how we chose the name of our daughter, Grace, and whether it was a family name or something we just liked. While it is not a family name and I did respond that it is a name we like, there is so much more to it than that.
Matt and I have been extremely blessed by God in our lives and feel that this baby girl is the perfect representation of God’s love and Grace in our lives. Also, it couldn’t be any more perfect that my due date, her possible birthday, is April 1st. Many laugh at this, but this year April 1st is Easter—which I do not see as any coincidence. But instead an even more perfect representation of God’s Grace in our lives.
