Merry Christmas!

The chicken is in the oven, yes I serve chicken instead of turkey at Christmas and there are more ingredients for the other dishes sitting ready on the kitchen counter.  As I work I play Christmas worship music on my phone, quietly because Nick is still sleeping, after all it is 6:45a.m.  At 7a.m. my phone begins to go off, friends texting to wish me a Merry Christmas, a great start to the day.  I turn off the music and turn the lights on the Christmas tree in my living room and make my morning coffee.  The silence is comforting, so I talk to Jesus about His birth, the fact that it happened in such a humble way is something I ask him about as I take me hot coffee with me to my comfy chair.  He then reminds me of the times that I spent in our barn as a little girl, watching my mom calmly milk the cows, sometimes spraying milk from the teat in a perfect arc to an eagerly waiting cat’s mouth.  The smell of the hay as I climbed up to the hayloft sitting on one of the hundreds of bales listening to the soft mewing of baby kittens hidden somewhere in the depths of the hay.  Listening to the cows bawl below, watching the hay dandruff dance in a sunbeam and dreaming about everything and nothing.  Why wouldn’t He choose a place that is so peaceful for His Son to be born?  And so very private, I wonder if that was His gift to Mary and Joseph, this time alone with their baby Jesus, no one knowing they were there, none of the outside world coming in to take over the scene, this privacy gives them a moment to breathe before their lives would be forever changed as others would begin to find out exactly who this child was, many good and many with evil intent.  They could take this private moment to talk to Jesus, to savor this moment, to treasure Him and pour their love into this tiny baby, perhaps whispering promises of offering Him the best life they can, praying protection over Him from the God they loved and served or simply ooohing and awwing over this beautiful baby as we all did with our babies. In this moment they need not think about tomorrow, they had this time, this short God given moment to adore Jesus, to speak words of love in his tiny ears, to watch in wonder as He might grasp their fingers with his tiny hand, they had this tiny sliver of a window of time for peace and celebration, alone with Jesus.  I can’t even imagine!

Whether they were in a stable or a cave makes no difference, they were separated from the rest of the world, alone with the Savior of the world and in that moment the Savior was their charge, their son, their hope and their promise of eternal life,  no one knew they were there except those whom God chose to inform, notified by special Heavenly invitation only.  The message offered in the most miraculous and brilliant way, angels.  So, who could refuse to believe that message?  In scripture it says “and suddenly a great company of the Heavenly host appeared”  I can’t help but picture a great company being like an army of angels, perhaps too many to count.  They would be lighting up the sky simply by their glorious presence and the voices would have been harmonious and I imagine mesmerizing. 

This morning I took the quietness of my morning to honor Jesus, to feel His Presence through music, to speak to Him about His birth.  And in the quietness He answered and when He speaks I feel such a huge rush of emotions, tears flow, not in sadness but in joy and in knowing that just like Mary and Joseph I was given this private moment in time with Him before the busyness of the day begins.  And I will hold that in my heart throughout the rest of this day. 

My prayer for all of you this Christmas Day is that you will experience a moment where it is just you and Jesus.  The food we serve, the gifts under the tree are all a part of this wonderful celebration and I look forward to it every year and I really believe that Jesus smiles with us as we share these moments of joy with our families.  Yet, as much as He enjoys our families along with us He also longs for a private moment with you, so today, somewhere in the chaos find a quiet space to give Him room to speak to your heart.  He’s waiting to be a part of your celebrations and all you need to do is invite Him, trust me He’ll show up and then the wonder of Christmas will truly begin.

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!