There are so very many things to love about Christmas breaks!

Not the least of these would be a small nephew, who, in his rapid march towards an antiquated state, will be attaining the impressive age of 12 months two days from today.

This charming young individual adds huge amounts of interest to life in general, and he's mostly a joy to be around. Except for when one happens to be unfortunate enough as to upset the little man...he has a rather interesting habit of roaring indignantly with mouth opened to approximately the size of a small hippopotamus as he lunges forward to bite the nose of the offending relative/former friend. Typically this results only from a food-related offense, though, so--we just don't take his cookies away from him, and then it's all good.

On another note, though, the days at home have been a lovely break from the routine of academia. It's been an opportunity to step back, to take stock and evaluate, and to see some things from a new perspective. And sometimes that's a really humbling experience, because more often than I care to admit, I'm guilty of things that I can't exactly look back at with pride. This whole growing-up-and-taking-responsibility-for-my-own-actions thing is sometimes painful, sometimes embarrassing, and other times just plain ol' overwhelming...but I am every day more thankful for the grace of a God who loves unconditionally and is not only capable but willing to redeem my mistakes.

Today I read a really well-written article by Nathan Zacharias that dealt with the topic of failure and our Biblical response to it, and he said a couple of things that particularly resonated with me this week. He writes:

"...when faced with failure, the road to recovery can't be taken until I first recognize that I need to recover in the first place. So in those painful moments of realizing what I've just done, it's important that I take heart in the fact that feeling that emotion of regret in the first place is a major part of the battle in overcoming my failure.

After some of life's breakdowns, it's tempting to throw in the towel on what the future holds. Sometimes I think that we've messed up so badly that God will never be able to use me to do any good. That thought, though, warns me that I'm seriously underestimating the redemptive power of Christ."

It's the thought of the redemptive power of Christ that gives me hope even on the days when I feel a little overwhelmed by the sad lack of Christ-like character which appears to plague many of us who call ourselves Christians.

So as I finish out 2009, surrounded by those I love best (who are exceptionally special simply because they know what a dork I am and choose to still love me anyway!), my prayer is that God would give each of us the grace and the strength to live by the truth that we know, the humility to admit that we don't know it all, the strength to face our mistakes, own them, and allow God to redeem them, and the character to accept, cherish, and forgive those who are at different places in their journey than we are.

May God bring about a revival, and may He begin it in my heart...