Peace on Earth Good Will to Men: An Angel's Story

I am an angel of the LORD, a messenger of God. 

 Today I am being sent to you to give you a message that GOD loves everyone. The good news is a gift from the Almighty for all people everywhere. 

I remember the day the announcement came for us to prepare for the birth announcement. All of Heaven was rejoicing. Excitement filled the air. 

The angels were flying about singing Glory to God in the Highest! Our joy filled heaven with anticipation of this great event. 

Do you know what event I am talking about? Please let me tell you the true story from the perspective of an angel of the LORD. 

It all started the day the angel Gabriel was told to go and give a message to a young maiden in Nazareth, a small town in Galilee. Her name was Mary. She was a gentle young maiden that loved GOD very much. She was engaged to a young man named Joseph. He was simple carpenter that was honest, faithful, and true. 

Oh, how excited we were to watch Gabriel prepare for his trip to earth. I could feel the tickles of joy crawl up and down my spine. For this was the greatest gift to ever be given. Peace on earth and good will toward men.

As in all gifts are free, it was free to be taken because grace was pouring out from heaven through this announcement. We peered down from heaven watching Gabriel appear to Mary. Oooh, He gave her such a fright! 

He said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Her face creased with fear. She did not realize that GOD found great pleasure in her and chose her special for this tremendous occasion. 

Gabriel instantly tried to calm her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with GOD. You will be with child and give birth to a son. You are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The LORD GOD will give Him the throne of this father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; His Kingdom will never end.” 

It was at that moment, I realized all of Heaven was silent. Every angel held their breath in anticipation of Mary’s response to the angel Gabriel. 

Her eyes lowered as she whispered to Gabriel, “How can this be since I am not married?” 

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of GOD,” Gabriel replied. 

As the words rang from Mary’s lips, “I am the LORDS servant. May it be to me as you have said,” all of Heaven breathed again. We began to sing “Glory to God in the Highest and on Earth peace and good will toward men!” We exulted in the great gift of GOD in sending Jesus to man. 

Peace on earth. Good will to men.

There was a moment of hesitation in our singing as Joseph struggled with the news that Mary was with child. He did not understand about the baby.

 

The LORD dispatched an angel to him while he slept to give him this message: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save his people from their sins.” Joseph woke up and did as the angel of the LORD told him and took Mary as his wife.

Heaven danced again for the greatest gift would soon be born. 

Joseph and Mary traveled to his hometown of Bethlehem because of a census that Caesar Augustus decreed. We watched from heaven as they traveled the long road to Bethlehem from Galilee enduring the dirt paved road as the elements of the sun and moon paved their journey. Joseph had layered blankets on the donkey’s back so Mary could ride in comfort. His kind ministrations comforted her and allowed her to rest pleasantly. 

When they arrived in Bethlehem the little village was so crowded there was no place for them stay. Joseph went from house to house trying hard to find a room for them. The baby was to be born soon. 

An innkeeper saw that Joseph was very concerned. He felt so bad he did not have a place for the couple to sleep, but he had an idea. He walked Joseph and Mary around to his stable where he kept his animals. He said, “You can rest there!” 

A weary Mary walked into the stable and laid down to rest in the hay. Even the animals quieted waiting for the gift from GOD. Finally, a wailing cry pierced the night as Mary wrapped the baby in swaddling clothes placing him in the manger. 

At this perfect moment, a star appeared in heaven over the little town of David. Shining in all its glory, as the breath of heaven arrived on earth through the birth of the Christ Child.

Without haste, I gathered a host of angels in the sky above the fields where shepherds kept watch over their flock that night. The glory of the LORD shone around me as I appeared over the shepherds. Terror fell upon them as they fell hiding their eyes from the glory of the LORD! .

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born for you; he is Christ the LORD. This will be a sign to you; you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared praising God, “Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth good will toward men.”

As quickly as we appeared, we disappeared into heaven again to watch the gift of heaven be unwrapped by His children. 

The Shepherds were the first to capture the vision of the newborn babe. They knelt before Him as tears stained their dirt caked faces unable to speak words—as the beauty of promises fulfilled covered the face of the babe nestled in the loving arms of His mother. 

The shepherd’s ran and told everyone what they had seen and heard before they returned to their flock that night! All were amazed! 

Mary and Joseph were so proud of the baby Jesus. On the eighth day of His life, they presented the Christ child at the temple for all to see. One lover of God named Simeon was there that day. He loved GOD very much. He was waiting for the arrival of the Messiah. As he took Jesus in his arms with his weathered hands cradling Jesus gently. He knew he could go in peace.

A song burst from him, “My eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” He announced to all people, “Jesus is for everyone including you and me!” 

Mary and Joseph marveled over what was said of their son, Jesus. 

 

In time Jesus grew. Do you remember the star that appeared the night he was born? Well, there were some wise men studying the stars that night. They saw the star when it appeared. They had heard that it was the star of the Christ Child sent to be the King of the Jews, GODS own gift from Heaven. So they traveled to find the baby Jesus. They traveled for many months to see Jesus bringing Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. What they found on the day they arrived was a great surprise. The gift they received was far greater than their gifts or their journey! It was the gift of life! 

God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. 

This is the free gift of Heaven. Joy made complete in the birth of a baby. The Baby Jesus was born for all people every where. 

It does not matter who you are, where you have been, or what you have done. God gave a gift by sending His One and Only Son! For all people everywhere. “Glory to GOD in the highest. Peace on earth and good will toward men.” 

Written and told by Dr. Tara Rye at Grace University in 2017 for the Introduction to Orality Story Celebration! 

Shallom y'all!

What is resilience? Do I have it?

You have heard of your Intelligent Quotient (IQ), Emotional Intelligence (EQ), and maybe even Cultural Intelligence (CQ), but what about your Resilient Intelligence (RQ)? What makes a person resilient? How does someone move through difficult circumstances and grow rather than shrink? Resilience is an essential component in the workforce and is a contributing factor to personal success. Did you know that resilience is learnable and achievable? What are key factors that will help you grow resilience? 

When I was asked to lead this session for UNMC and UNO’s GRIT series I immediately asked myself, “Do I have resilience? And when I realized that I do, I asked myself, Where and how did I develop resilience?” I have chosen four moments. I could choose others, but these four proved to be profound moments where I had to choose to move through or bounce back when I did not think I had the capacity to do so. On September 11, 1998, our home flooded in Tropical Storm Francis in Houston, Texas. Greg, Mikayla (our two-year-old) and six-month-pregnant-me along with two dogs had to escape through rapid moving flood waters. We left the cat. It was rescued in speed boat. Along with several other thousand people that day, we lost it all and had to begin the process of rebuilding. It took six months so our new born baby was technically born homeless. In October 2001, ENRON, the Fortune 500 company my husband worked for collapsed and we lost everything financially. We ended up being relocated to Omaha and had to rebuild a whole new community and financial base. On August 3, 2016 while on a leadership retreat with our Resident Assistant Team, I hit a tree while ziplining because my brakes didn’t work. I seriously injured all of the tendons and ligaments in my feet and ankles while crushing my heal pads of my feet. For the first time in my life, I felt what I thought was level 10 pain. I live with chronic pain from that injury even today. And on October 3, 2017, Grace University announced that it was closing. As the Dean of Women, I had to walk through eight months of grief helping the students and staff let go of our 75-year beloved institution. Each of these stories carry intense moments of deep learning and hard choices to push through when I thought I did not have the mental, emotional, social, or physical capacity to do so. But I learned that I am much stronger than I thought I was and that yes, I can move through to a better tomorrow and a better normal. Why? Because I am resilient!

So, what is resilience? Resilience can be defined as the bounce back factor in the face of difficult circumstances without engaging in dysfunctional behavior. Resilience is the ability to move through it and become better because of it. The crazy and amazing thing about resilience is that it is learnable, teachable, and possible for all people. And that with each step we take toward moving forward we strengthen our resilience! In many ways, resilience is caught more than taught in the hard moments of life. It is caught when we get up and take the next step. 

So, I find myself asking, What did I learn about resilience in these four moments? Honestly, I could never have walked the journey without my community of faith, family, friends, and yes, coworkers and students. As hard as it was to do, I learned to ask for help. After the shock wore off when I hit the tree, I had no choice. I could not stand on my own two feet by myself. I found that my students would carry me when I could not stand, literally! As I experienced their kindness in carrying me, I learned more about how to serve others in those moments than any other in my life. I can give stories from each of these moments where someone carried me. Through these moments of seeking help, I experienced in more profound way the power of love, sacrifice, and service. And that God truly is our help in our time of need and that with God all things are possible. Often His answers come through the hands and feet of those around us! Asking for help is not only a gift to ourselves, but it is to the other person because it allows them to walk in the blessing of serving you.

Another characteristic of resilience that I encountered was the power of being present in the moment even when it meant conflict, suffering and/or pain. I discovered that if I took the time to assess the situation and acknowledge what I was feeling and going through that I was better able to handle the moment. Acknowledging something makes it less scary. At times, I would just verbalize aloud what I was feeling. So, if I didn’t like me in the moment, I would just say it. This somehow helped me to pull it together. It helped me to center myself and be mindful of what I was going through. I had to learn to give myself grace and others as well. If I focused on what I could do in that moment and just take the next step, I would feel like I accomplished something. It gave me a sense of completion and accomplishment which made me feel like I was in control in what was perceived an uncontrollable situation.

I realize that this is not everyone’s story, but for me, I found that if I faithed it, I could make it! I found strength in God and the people of God. This means that even though I could not see what would be, if I stepped out in faith trusting that movement, healing, provision, and whatever I might need would happen that I became stronger. I started saying, “I am faithing forward!” I found ways to feed my soul with spiritual truths that encouraged my heart and mind. I found ways to share with others about my journey. This kept me from living in mental isolation. Which really helped me process and release a lot of stuff. I tried hard to think about how my husband might be feeling and how I could be his encouragement or how my students and colleagues were feeling so that I could serve them with better understanding. On the night that we flooded and lost it all, we were sleeping on a day bed in my parent’s guest room with our two dogs on the floor, the cat on the edge of the bed, our two-year-old wedged between us and I whispered to my husband, Greg, “Babe, we have all we need right here. I am content and we are going to be okay.” I meant it and it was true. Despite losing it all, we can now say that we are better having gone through it than if we had not. 

I could tell you about all the things that God taught me to release like pride, vanity, greed, materialism, and identity in things, positions, power, or influence. But that is another lesson. However, with resilience building I discovered that there were things that I needed to hold onto and things that I needed release. My self-talk was critical. I could beat myself up, tear down others, or remind myself of truths that brough positive outcomes. Two truths that I found myself embracing as I moved through these circumstances were “we will make it through” and that “I am stronger than I think.” I realized that normal is whatever I make it to be. If I take the time to set a rhythm into the routine, then I create a new normal. I am the one that determines what normal is for me, my family, and my work. This was huge! It made chaos comfortable and confusion settled. Why? Because I determined in my heart what the norm was and did not allow the circumstances to tell me otherwise. 

How are you being challenged right now to be resilient? What aspect of resilience have you already developed? Where might you need to grow or take the next step? Go ahead and faith forward and create your new normal by choosing to be in community, ask for help, focus on the moment, do what you can do, and live out good self-talk as you move forward! Shalom Y’all! 😉