• Start Here
    • Privacy Policy
  • The Podcast
  • Spiritual Disciplines
    • Bible Study
      • Building a Bible Reading Habit: A 31 Day Gospel Reading Plan
    • Confession
    • Fasting
    • Prayer
    • Service
  • Liturgical Living
    • Advent
    • Christmas
    • Lent
      • 40 Days to the Cross: A Lenten Workbook
      • The Bible in Lent
    • Easter
    • Pentecost
    • Ordinary Time
  • Catholicism
  • Christian Living
    • Church Life
    • Hospitality
    • Marriage
      • Infertility
  • Latest Blog Posts

The Thin Place

Advent Without a Baby

There is a deep longing that comes this time of year. I’m patiently waiting, watching, preparing for the coming of the Christ child. Despite the traditional longing associated with Advent, there is joy. Mangers sit empty, but we know the ending – they will be filled on Christmas morning.

The miracle unfold each year. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive.” We marvel at this news as we stare at little porcelain nativity sets depicting Mary cautiously bent over, adoring and fretting over baby Jesus.

Yet here I stand, with empty arms and a painfully empty womb. The ache of infertility does not disappear at Christmas. The beauty of life growing in unexpected places, the virgin’s womb, inside a woman well past her fertile years, only highlights the absence of life where we expect to find it.

img_1034
But despite the life coming from the virgin’s womb, my arms, the arms of my husband, remain empty. And we cry.

We cry because the power of God, His life-giving power, is especially on display this time of year. It is magnificent and breath-taking to behold. We marvel at the splendor, at the grace of Mary, the faithfulness of Joseph, but most of all, we marvel at life. That this impossible life came to dwell among us.

I am wrestling with God as I try to hold in balance the power and majesty He displayed in the incarnation and the emptiness I feel. Christmas draws me back to the angel reminding Mary that nothing is impossible with God but yet, my prayers go unanswered. He is able, that much has already been displayed, but my heart is left crying, begging as Rachel did for a life to take root within me.

 

So this Advent, this last week before Christmas, I’m going to practice longing. Standing in the already, not yet, I will wait for my Messiah to come anew. I will remember when Israel cried out to God for 500 years of silence and I will cry out with them, “O come, Emmanuel.”

And I know that He will.

Because God works in the quiet, unexpected place of our lives. He cultivates faithfulness and intimacy with Him while we wander in these desert places. And He fills the deep longings of our hearts.

This may not look like a baby in my arms, but it will look like God-ordained beauty. And may I respond, no matter the circumstance, as Mary did.

“Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’”Luke 1:38, ESV

 

SaveSave

Join 6,878 Believers
Join 6,878 believers who receive weekly updates and spiritual encouragement and receive free access to the resource library and our exclusive Facebook group.
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.
Pin71
Share8
Tweet
Share
79 Shares
Share
Join the Convo

Leave a Comment Cancel Comment

related posts

You May Also Like

Joy in the Midst of the Sorrow of Infertility

March 10, 2017

Grace. All-Sufficient Grace

October 25, 2016

Steward Your Story

April 28, 2017
Hello, I’m Bailey
about me

Hello, I’m Bailey

The Thin Place was born out of a season of struggle. A season where I felt stretched thin and desperately longed to see the goodness of God in the land of the living. The goodness of God showed up in unexpected ways. During that season, the spiritual disciplines laid out in Scripture, the traditions of the Church, and the reminders of His faithfulness seen in liturgial living and the feasts and seasons of the Church calendar all opened my eyes to the hope we have in Christ.

Popular Posts

6 Habits To Start Your Morning Routine Like The Proverbs 31 Woman6 Habits To Start Your Morning Routine Like The Proverbs 31 Woman87K Total Shares
Pray Like Hannah and Give It to GodPray Like Hannah and Give It to God23K Total Shares
7 Spiritual Goals You Need To Start Setting Today7 Spiritual Goals You Need To Start Setting Today12K Total Shares
5 Important Ways to Pray for Your Husband5 Important Ways to Pray for Your Husband11K Total Shares

Products

  • Building a Bible Reading Habit: A 31 Day Gospel Reading Plan $15.00

Follow on Instagram

The Book of Wisdom full of poetic principles and outlines how to live life well. Written around the time of the Maccabean revolt, it is written in the style of Solomon (and is sometimes referred to as “The Wisdom of Solomon”) but was written by later authors.
While this book was not accepted in the Jewish cannon, it is in every copy of the Greek Septuagint but it was quote by St Augustine over 800 times and, most importantly, was declared Scripture at the Councils of Hippo and Carthage. 
It focuses on Wisdom guiding the lives of the faithful, the follies of the wicked, and focuses heavily on our future home with God and the life to come. 
For those of you familiar with the Nicene Creed, the Book of Wisdom is one of the sources of inspiration of our description of Jesus Christ. The reference to Christ being “Light from Light” is taken from Wisdom 7:26 which refers to Wisdom as being a “reflection of eternal light.” 
There are also several passages in Wisdom which foretell the death of Christ. One of my favorite passages is Wisdom 14:7, “Blessed is the wood by which righteousness comes,” which reminds me how truly blessed is the cross which held the Savior of the world, our perfect Sacrifice. 
Wisdom is very similar to the book of Proverbs in length and style. It points constantly to the Lord who, as James tells us, is ready to give wisdom to those who ask. 
#bibletime #biblereading #readyourbible #proverbs31woman #proverbs31 #womenintheword #savedbygrace #virtuouswoman #godlywoman #godsgirl #christianliving #butgod #givemejesus #trustgod #daughteroftheking #walkbyfaith #beautyfromashes #graceupongrace #dailydevotional #faithjourney #jesuslover #faithblogger #godisgood #graceoverperfection #michiganblogger #biblescripture #catholicbible
thethinplace
thethinplace
•
Follow
The Book of Wisdom full of poetic principles and outlines how to live life well. Written around the time of the Maccabean revolt, it is written in the style of Solomon (and is sometimes referred to as “The Wisdom of Solomon”) but was written by later authors. While this book was not accepted in the Jewish cannon, it is in every copy of the Greek Septuagint but it was quote by St Augustine over 800 times and, most importantly, was declared Scripture at the Councils of Hippo and Carthage. It focuses on Wisdom guiding the lives of the faithful, the follies of the wicked, and focuses heavily on our future home with God and the life to come. For those of you familiar with the Nicene Creed, the Book of Wisdom is one of the sources of inspiration of our description of Jesus Christ. The reference to Christ being “Light from Light” is taken from Wisdom 7:26 which refers to Wisdom as being a “reflection of eternal light.” There are also several passages in Wisdom which foretell the death of Christ. One of my favorite passages is Wisdom 14:7, “Blessed is the wood by which righteousness comes,” which reminds me how truly blessed is the cross which held the Savior of the world, our perfect Sacrifice. Wisdom is very similar to the book of Proverbs in length and style. It points constantly to the Lord who, as James tells us, is ready to give wisdom to those who ask. #bibletime #biblereading #readyourbible #proverbs31woman #proverbs31 #womenintheword #savedbygrace #virtuouswoman #godlywoman #godsgirl #christianliving #butgod #givemejesus #trustgod #daughteroftheking #walkbyfaith #beautyfromashes #graceupongrace #dailydevotional #faithjourney #jesuslover #faithblogger #godisgood #graceoverperfection #michiganblogger #biblescripture #catholicbible
21 hours ago
View on Instagram |
1/5
Until I read the entire Bible last year for the Bible in Lent challenge, I had never read most of the Deuterocanonical / Apocryphal books of the Bible. When I did this, I realized that, aside from a vague notion of Maccabees from Hanukkah books, I had absolutely no idea what the rest of the books contained.
For the next few days, we're going to do a little overview of each of these books in the Bible.
But first, why aren't these books in the Protestant Bible?
Like most of the divides in the Catholic and Protestant conversation, there is a lot of nuances. Luther’s own translation of the Bible included these books although he moved them to a separate section. They were also included in the King James Bible of 1611 and the Geneva Bible even though they were viewed as apocryphal or “outside of Scripture.” It was not standard even in Protestantism to exclude these books from the Bible printing until 1825. 
Essentially, there is a lot of historical evidence that the church throughout history considered these books a part of the Bible. But earlier in the Church, we see evidence of Church leaders such as St. Polycarp, St. Clement of Rome, Origen, St. Athanasius, St. Jerome, and St. Augustine,  affirming some or all of these books as Scripture.
It's clear that historically, believers have seen these books as beneficial so I hope you'll join me in looking at them this week!
#godsword #jesusislife #dailydevotion #shedelights #graceupongrace #godisfaithful #lordjesus #blessedisshe #biblestudy #trustinhim #catholicism #bible #jesuslove #christianposts #readyourbible #bibledaily #intheword #wordbeforeworld #bibleversedaily #gracemakers #christianwomenleaders #bibletruth #jesusisthereasonfortheseason #godlovesyou #prayerchangesthings #dailybibleverse #seekhim
thethinplace
thethinplace
•
Follow
Until I read the entire Bible last year for the Bible in Lent challenge, I had never read most of the Deuterocanonical / Apocryphal books of the Bible. When I did this, I realized that, aside from a vague notion of Maccabees from Hanukkah books, I had absolutely no idea what the rest of the books contained. For the next few days, we're going to do a little overview of each of these books in the Bible. But first, why aren't these books in the Protestant Bible? Like most of the divides in the Catholic and Protestant conversation, there is a lot of nuances. Luther’s own translation of the Bible included these books although he moved them to a separate section. They were also included in the King James Bible of 1611 and the Geneva Bible even though they were viewed as apocryphal or “outside of Scripture.” It was not standard even in Protestantism to exclude these books from the Bible printing until 1825. Essentially, there is a lot of historical evidence that the church throughout history considered these books a part of the Bible. But earlier in the Church, we see evidence of Church leaders such as St. Polycarp, St. Clement of Rome, Origen, St. Athanasius, St. Jerome, and St. Augustine, affirming some or all of these books as Scripture. It's clear that historically, believers have seen these books as beneficial so I hope you'll join me in looking at them this week! #godsword #jesusislife #dailydevotion #shedelights #graceupongrace #godisfaithful #lordjesus #blessedisshe #biblestudy #trustinhim #catholicism #bible #jesuslove #christianposts #readyourbible #bibledaily #intheword #wordbeforeworld #bibleversedaily #gracemakers #christianwomenleaders #bibletruth #jesusisthereasonfortheseason #godlovesyou #prayerchangesthings #dailybibleverse #seekhim
2 days ago
View on Instagram |
2/5
I used to think that one day, the glory of the Lord, our relationship with Him in Heaven, would be so great that we wouldn’t care about the wretched pain that sin brought into our earthly lives. But that answer never quite satisfied. 
I realize now that God is not in the business of sweeping things under the rug. There isn’t going to be some cosmic brainwashing where we all wake up one day pretending the pain was never there. Redemption, transformation, and revival is what our God is about.
Christ’s dead body lying in the grave and being raised to life, still bearing the wounds of His crucifixion, that is our hope. Not that the bad things will be ignored, but that even the most egregious acts we can commit, crucifying our God, can be turned into the means of our redemption. All that was meant for evil will be purposed to the good of the Lord, not ignored by Him.
There is not going to be a cosmic gaslighting, the wounds that Thomas felt testify to this. There will be a cosmic resurrection where things that felt too awful to even think about will be redeemed and transformed by the glorious love and majesty of our Lord.
And one day we will look and say, He has done great things. And will know in our bones that it is truly true.
#godsword #jesusislife #dailydevotion #shedelights #graceupongrace #godisfaithful #lordjesus #blessedisshe #biblestudy #trustinhim #catholicism #bible #jesuslove #christianposts #readyourbible #bibledaily #intheword #wordbeforeworld #bibleversedaily #gracemakers #christianwomenleaders #bibletruth #jesusisthereasonfortheseason #godlovesyou #prayerchangesthings #dailybibleverse #seekhim
I used to think that one day, the glory of the Lord, our relationship with Him in Heaven, would be so great that we wouldn’t care about the wretched pain that sin brought into our earthly lives. But that answer never quite satisfied. 
I realize now that God is not in the business of sweeping things under the rug. There isn’t going to be some cosmic brainwashing where we all wake up one day pretending the pain was never there. Redemption, transformation, and revival is what our God is about.
Christ’s dead body lying in the grave and being raised to life, still bearing the wounds of His crucifixion, that is our hope. Not that the bad things will be ignored, but that even the most egregious acts we can commit, crucifying our God, can be turned into the means of our redemption. All that was meant for evil will be purposed to the good of the Lord, not ignored by Him.
There is not going to be a cosmic gaslighting, the wounds that Thomas felt testify to this. There will be a cosmic resurrection where things that felt too awful to even think about will be redeemed and transformed by the glorious love and majesty of our Lord.
And one day we will look and say, He has done great things. And will know in our bones that it is truly true.
#godsword #jesusislife #dailydevotion #shedelights #graceupongrace #godisfaithful #lordjesus #blessedisshe #biblestudy #trustinhim #catholicism #bible #jesuslove #christianposts #readyourbible #bibledaily #intheword #wordbeforeworld #bibleversedaily #gracemakers #christianwomenleaders #bibletruth #jesusisthereasonfortheseason #godlovesyou #prayerchangesthings #dailybibleverse #seekhim
I used to think that one day, the glory of the Lord, our relationship with Him in Heaven, would be so great that we wouldn’t care about the wretched pain that sin brought into our earthly lives. But that answer never quite satisfied. 
I realize now that God is not in the business of sweeping things under the rug. There isn’t going to be some cosmic brainwashing where we all wake up one day pretending the pain was never there. Redemption, transformation, and revival is what our God is about.
Christ’s dead body lying in the grave and being raised to life, still bearing the wounds of His crucifixion, that is our hope. Not that the bad things will be ignored, but that even the most egregious acts we can commit, crucifying our God, can be turned into the means of our redemption. All that was meant for evil will be purposed to the good of the Lord, not ignored by Him.
There is not going to be a cosmic gaslighting, the wounds that Thomas felt testify to this. There will be a cosmic resurrection where things that felt too awful to even think about will be redeemed and transformed by the glorious love and majesty of our Lord.
And one day we will look and say, He has done great things. And will know in our bones that it is truly true.
#godsword #jesusislife #dailydevotion #shedelights #graceupongrace #godisfaithful #lordjesus #blessedisshe #biblestudy #trustinhim #catholicism #bible #jesuslove #christianposts #readyourbible #bibledaily #intheword #wordbeforeworld #bibleversedaily #gracemakers #christianwomenleaders #bibletruth #jesusisthereasonfortheseason #godlovesyou #prayerchangesthings #dailybibleverse #seekhim
thethinplace
thethinplace
•
Follow
I used to think that one day, the glory of the Lord, our relationship with Him in Heaven, would be so great that we wouldn’t care about the wretched pain that sin brought into our earthly lives. But that answer never quite satisfied. I realize now that God is not in the business of sweeping things under the rug. There isn’t going to be some cosmic brainwashing where we all wake up one day pretending the pain was never there. Redemption, transformation, and revival is what our God is about. Christ’s dead body lying in the grave and being raised to life, still bearing the wounds of His crucifixion, that is our hope. Not that the bad things will be ignored, but that even the most egregious acts we can commit, crucifying our God, can be turned into the means of our redemption. All that was meant for evil will be purposed to the good of the Lord, not ignored by Him. There is not going to be a cosmic gaslighting, the wounds that Thomas felt testify to this. There will be a cosmic resurrection where things that felt too awful to even think about will be redeemed and transformed by the glorious love and majesty of our Lord. And one day we will look and say, He has done great things. And will know in our bones that it is truly true. #godsword #jesusislife #dailydevotion #shedelights #graceupongrace #godisfaithful #lordjesus #blessedisshe #biblestudy #trustinhim #catholicism #bible #jesuslove #christianposts #readyourbible #bibledaily #intheword #wordbeforeworld #bibleversedaily #gracemakers #christianwomenleaders #bibletruth #jesusisthereasonfortheseason #godlovesyou #prayerchangesthings #dailybibleverse #seekhim
2 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
3/5
I've been thinking a lot these last few months about the Prodigal Son, the in-between parts of the story that don't make the highlight reel.
Did he slip out wordlessly or was there fanfare as his leaving? Did his father cry or was he numb to the pain? 
We know the ending, we know the joyous celebration upon the son’s return, but how many moments in the in-between are we missing. The celebrations with one less seat at the table. Nights spend wondering if and where and how he was surviving.
There’s so much to unpack that we just tie up neatly with the “and he came home and all was well” bow at the end of the story. The end of the story is what endures, but the rest of the story is not insignificant. Without it, the end it confusing at best and meaningless at worst.
I used to think that one day, the glory of the Lord, our relationship with Him in Heaven, would be so great that we wouldn’t care about the wretched pain that sin brought into our earthly lives. 
But that answer never quite satisfied. 
I realize now that God is not in the business of sweeping things under the rug. There isn’t going to be some cosmic brainwashing where we all wake up one day pretending the pain was never there. Redemption, transformation, and revival is what our God is about.
Christ’s dead body lying in the grave and being raised to life, still bearing the wounds of His crucifixion, that is our hope. Not that the bad things will be ignored, but that even the most egregious acts we can commit, crucifying our God, can be turned into the means of our redemption. All that was meant for evil will be purposed to the good of the Lord, not ignored by Him.
There is not going to be a cosmic gaslighting, the wounds that Thomas felt testify to this. There will be a cosmic resurrection where things that felt too awful to even think about will be redeemed and transformed by the glorious love and majesty of our Lord.
And one day we will look and say, He has done great things. And will know in our bones that it is truly true.
#christianwoman  #jesusgirl #inspiredfaith #Catholicconvert #chasingsacred #bibleverse #biblestudy  #christianblogger #faithinhim #proverbs31woman #prodigalson
thethinplace
thethinplace
•
Follow
I've been thinking a lot these last few months about the Prodigal Son, the in-between parts of the story that don't make the highlight reel. Did he slip out wordlessly or was there fanfare as his leaving? Did his father cry or was he numb to the pain? We know the ending, we know the joyous celebration upon the son’s return, but how many moments in the in-between are we missing. The celebrations with one less seat at the table. Nights spend wondering if and where and how he was surviving. There’s so much to unpack that we just tie up neatly with the “and he came home and all was well” bow at the end of the story. The end of the story is what endures, but the rest of the story is not insignificant. Without it, the end it confusing at best and meaningless at worst. I used to think that one day, the glory of the Lord, our relationship with Him in Heaven, would be so great that we wouldn’t care about the wretched pain that sin brought into our earthly lives. But that answer never quite satisfied. I realize now that God is not in the business of sweeping things under the rug. There isn’t going to be some cosmic brainwashing where we all wake up one day pretending the pain was never there. Redemption, transformation, and revival is what our God is about. Christ’s dead body lying in the grave and being raised to life, still bearing the wounds of His crucifixion, that is our hope. Not that the bad things will be ignored, but that even the most egregious acts we can commit, crucifying our God, can be turned into the means of our redemption. All that was meant for evil will be purposed to the good of the Lord, not ignored by Him. There is not going to be a cosmic gaslighting, the wounds that Thomas felt testify to this. There will be a cosmic resurrection where things that felt too awful to even think about will be redeemed and transformed by the glorious love and majesty of our Lord. And one day we will look and say, He has done great things. And will know in our bones that it is truly true. #christianwoman #jesusgirl #inspiredfaith #Catholicconvert #chasingsacred #bibleverse #biblestudy #christianblogger #faithinhim #proverbs31woman #prodigalson
2 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
4/5
This is a gut-check. A major gut-check. 
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." - James 1:27
Is that how I live my faith?
No. I can say without any hesitation, that I am not known for widow or orphan care. Even when I advocate for the vulnerable and marginalized, it is in a vague, general way. 
Not in a specific way. For specific people. Like the God who loves specifically me and not just a vague idea of a person. 
Lord, have mercy. Convict us and move us to action. Make us more like You.
#christianwoman #graceupongrace #jesusgirl #inspiredfaith #womenlivingwell #jesuscalling #faithfilledcaptions #catholicblogger #Catholicconvert #CatholicWoman #chasingsacred #christianwomenleaders #bibleverse #biblestudy  #christianblogger #faithinhim #proverbs31woman #faithful #Godisgood #encouragementgallery #godslove #christianposts #christianquote #prayer #prayertime #miblogger #michiganblogger
thethinplace
thethinplace
•
Follow
This is a gut-check. A major gut-check. "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." - James 1:27 Is that how I live my faith? No. I can say without any hesitation, that I am not known for widow or orphan care. Even when I advocate for the vulnerable and marginalized, it is in a vague, general way. Not in a specific way. For specific people. Like the God who loves specifically me and not just a vague idea of a person. Lord, have mercy. Convict us and move us to action. Make us more like You. #christianwoman #graceupongrace #jesusgirl #inspiredfaith #womenlivingwell #jesuscalling #faithfilledcaptions #catholicblogger #Catholicconvert #CatholicWoman #chasingsacred #christianwomenleaders #bibleverse #biblestudy #christianblogger #faithinhim #proverbs31woman #faithful #Godisgood #encouragementgallery #godslove #christianposts #christianquote #prayer #prayertime #miblogger #michiganblogger
4 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
5/5
@thethinplace
Instagram did not return a 200.

Copyright Bailey Suzio 2022 Site Powered by Pix & Hue.