Just Be

Because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from Heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.

-Luke 1:78-79

 

            It’s Christmas. Snow sparkles on the boughs of trees, crystal flakes floating through the air, breath escaping lungs and dancing into the cold. Streets bustle with last minute activity, families gather, laughter bright and echoing. The world rejoices, but only after items are crossed off wish lists, stockings are stuffed and minds are filled to the brim with any and every last minute details.

            You, my dear one, are craving a moment to quiet your heart. I see it in your beautiful face, lines etched with pressure of performance. You fidget, you flounder, you fear this Christmas will be forgotten.

Slow down. Still yourself in the slur of frenzy and a race to rush ahead. Forget the gifts, glitter and ribbon glow, the wrapping, the cookies warm and full in the oven. Stop your straining.

            Just be.

            Be a silent night, an inky softness in the eve, velvet, expectant and pregnant with wonder.

Be a blazing light, when angels lit the sky and sang melodies no mortal ear has ever heard.

Be a believer, like shepherds who heard of a King and eagerly raced to a manger and tell the town of what they saw.

Be a Mary, storing her baby boy deep in the pockets of her heart, pondering the glory in a mud-stench stable.

Be a star, stretched high above and bringing good tidings to all men, a burning glimmer greeting the earth.

Be grace-filled. Brimming with the Life that lay swaddled in cloths and pumping tiny fists against straw. For what this tiny child came to do. And how you are helpless to DO anything but receive Him.

O come, let us adore Him. This small and silent Savior, who saved our sanity while saving our souls.

Prepare your heart for the miracle of the nativity, the miraculous in the mundane and the blessed rest your core is ready to claim.

Prayer:

Lord, let this be a silent night to savor You. To remember the world as it was thousands of years ago. Take me to that night, that wondrous miracle that unfolded in a stable. Quiet my heart. Help me to rest and remember all that You have done and all this season means. Please slow me down to discover the beauty and glory of this Christmas. Amen.