Gratitude Day 380

Mon., Dec. 23, 2019

Luke 2:7: She gave birth to her firstborn child, a son, wrapped him snugly, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guestroom.

Oh, how I wished that I would have come up with this statement.

But I didn’t.

I don’t know who did.

I’m just going to “borrow” it from you today.

On Sunday, I tried to get things ready for Christmas. Baked cookies, shopped for groceries, cleaned the house, packaged up cookies to give to co-workers, visited the neighbor. You get the picture. My dream was to have everything ready for Christmas before I went to bed.

There are still some presents to wrap. A few cookies to finish decorating. A few other things.

My goal wasn’t quite met.

Here’s the deal. Am I going to be SO BUSY preparing everything … that I miss the baby’s arrival? Like the innkeeper, will I choose to keep myself occupied with things of the world rather than reflecting again on whose birthday we celebrate?

If you think about all the things we do at Christmas, many seem rather silly. Cut down a tree and put it in your house? Overspend on presents? Increase your sugar intake significantly over the course of one or two weeks of the year?

Here’s the deal. So many of the things we do at Christmas draw us back to the Christ child.

Present? Reminders of the magi who eventually visited Jesus.

Tree with lights? The baby is the Light of the World.

Sugar intake? The sweetness of knowing a God who loves us unconditionally.

I could go on. Hopefully, you get the point. We all pick what we make room for today. Tomorrow. Christmas Day. Every day. Like the innkeeper, do we sometimes make some poor choices? You bet. I make poor choices every day.

But once in a while, I want to get it right. I want to look at the tree and see Light in the world. I want to attend Christmas Eve worship with a heart ready to greet the Savior of the World. I want to celebrate a special day with family and friends because it’s a birthday worth remember 2,000 years later.

Will you make room this Christmas? What will you make room for this Christmas?

For inspiration from an innkeeper, I am grateful.

Holy God – As we approach a big birthday, I pray we make room for the things You long for us to move to the top of the list. May these be the most important things we celebrate this week. Amen.  

Blessings –

Dianne

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