December 5, 2022

Jose Abaroa
"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace."
Micah 5:2-5

Undoubtedly, I think that Wimberley is the best small town around! The unique history and culture of Wimberley make it great, but the people who live here make it the best.

For many years, Wimberley remained a hidden gem and few, even in the state, knew where it was (hard to imagine that today). Even more rare are the stories of people like the Johnson family, who long ago provided the land for the first church, school (now HEB), and library in town and also banded the community together through wartime and seasons of drought. I imagine that Bethlehem was somewhat similar.

Bethlehem was a small rural town in the Judean hill country and the unlikely birthplace of two of the greatest characters in the Bible: David, the greatest king of Israel, who was born 1,000 years before the King of Kings, Jesus, who came to fulfill the above prophecy in Micah over 700 years after it was written. Both of these men’s stories started in this small town, and praise be to God, we know their stories!

I wonder, what small things God may be starting in your life? Whatever they may be, I hope the promises of the verses above encourage and bring peace to us as we lean on Jesus, our shepherd — who gives us strength so that we can bring His story to the ends of the earth and live securely in the promise of everlasting life.