Innkeeper
I would love to be sitting across from you over steaming mugs of chai lattes (sorry, I don't ever plan to be a friend of coffee!) and hear how your Christmas season has felt to you thus far.
Crazy and chaotic?
Expensive and full of effort?
Or perhaps lonely and less-than
Moody and melancholy
The truth is we put so much expectation into this season and our realities can easily overwhelm, depress, and deflate our joy that we so desperately long for. The fulfillment and hope we know that can be found in the simple manger is so often crowded out by busy schedules and shopping and decorating and food preparations.
My Christmas preparations began way back in September and no, I don't mean I was already buying gifts and making lists! It was a mental preparation; a difficult refining process that my Savior orchestrated. Typically September is when I begin preparing for our annual Christmas orchestra at church.
It's a tradition that I hold near and dear to my heart and that I do truly enjoy. However, like a lot of things can, it comes with large amounts of stress and busyness! I prayed and prayed all of September. My mind and my flesh were telling me this is something I could do, a task I wanted to do, a duty I felt I had to do.
But God. He was telling me not to. I wrestled, I grumbled, I complained, I begged. My heart, His heart was saying no. It is hard for me to say no and to feel like I'm letting others down, but I knew I had to obey. A friend shared she was praying that I would have peace that surpasses the regret. As the Advent season began, I felt small twinges of sadness, but complete peace and rest.
Then I read a church sign one day that said something like this: "You are the innkeeper--are you making room for Jesus?"
And it clicked. Yes, this is first Christmas season that my hard "no" became a yes to making room for Jesus! The first time in a long time that I can see the beauty in the mundane. The secular tasks turn into sacred ones.
God has spoken so clearly and my life has been radically changed in the reading of Ann Voskamp's book "The Greatest Gift" this season. In the book she quotes John Brokhoff: "Advent is a time of quiet anticipation. If Christ is going to come again into our hearts, there must be repentance. Without repentance, our hearts will be so full of worldly things that there will be no room in the inn for Christ to be born again."
Lord, I repent of my worldly cravings, my busy mind, my unnecessary expectations. I want to breath deeply your heart, your peace, and the wonderful gift of your presence! There is only room in my heart when I am done with me.
I urge you with another of Ann's quotes found on page 201: "You don't have to work for Christmas, you don't have to earn, perform, or make it. You can rest and wait and open your heart to the miracle of grace in His coming."
So that is what our family made our intention this season.
Crazy and chaotic?
Expensive and full of effort?
Or perhaps lonely and less-than
Moody and melancholy
The truth is we put so much expectation into this season and our realities can easily overwhelm, depress, and deflate our joy that we so desperately long for. The fulfillment and hope we know that can be found in the simple manger is so often crowded out by busy schedules and shopping and decorating and food preparations.
My Christmas preparations began way back in September and no, I don't mean I was already buying gifts and making lists! It was a mental preparation; a difficult refining process that my Savior orchestrated. Typically September is when I begin preparing for our annual Christmas orchestra at church.
It's a tradition that I hold near and dear to my heart and that I do truly enjoy. However, like a lot of things can, it comes with large amounts of stress and busyness! I prayed and prayed all of September. My mind and my flesh were telling me this is something I could do, a task I wanted to do, a duty I felt I had to do.
But God. He was telling me not to. I wrestled, I grumbled, I complained, I begged. My heart, His heart was saying no. It is hard for me to say no and to feel like I'm letting others down, but I knew I had to obey. A friend shared she was praying that I would have peace that surpasses the regret. As the Advent season began, I felt small twinges of sadness, but complete peace and rest.
Then I read a church sign one day that said something like this: "You are the innkeeper--are you making room for Jesus?"
And it clicked. Yes, this is first Christmas season that my hard "no" became a yes to making room for Jesus! The first time in a long time that I can see the beauty in the mundane. The secular tasks turn into sacred ones.
God has spoken so clearly and my life has been radically changed in the reading of Ann Voskamp's book "The Greatest Gift" this season. In the book she quotes John Brokhoff: "Advent is a time of quiet anticipation. If Christ is going to come again into our hearts, there must be repentance. Without repentance, our hearts will be so full of worldly things that there will be no room in the inn for Christ to be born again."
Lord, I repent of my worldly cravings, my busy mind, my unnecessary expectations. I want to breath deeply your heart, your peace, and the wonderful gift of your presence! There is only room in my heart when I am done with me.
I urge you with another of Ann's quotes found on page 201: "You don't have to work for Christmas, you don't have to earn, perform, or make it. You can rest and wait and open your heart to the miracle of grace in His coming."
So that is what our family made our intention this season.
We served.
We felt.
We experienced.
We reflected.
We looked for the simple beauty in our days.
Thanked God for blessings of warmth.
Looked for God's loving provision in the slow baking of oatmeal.
On page 211 Ann writes: "You are most prepared for Christmas when you are done trying to make your performance into the gift and instead revel in His presence as the gift."
Friend, it's all around you! God's wondrous blessings, His immeasurable love, His eternal beauty is within reach for you to experience anew! Reach out, grasp and take hold of the precious gift that awaits!
With love,
Merry Christmas!
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