Christmas is just days away, but I've been asked the perennial question since the beginning of December: "Are you ready for Christmas?"
How are you handling the chaotic Christmas season? Are you asking me if I'm stable?
It may imply, "Have you purchased all your gifts?" Why yes, I have. Amazon has quickly delivered most to my door, but I am waiting on two more. A few others were found in stores I've explored.
I'm sure it begs if I will be a ready host? I've gotten away with quick meal planning, but soon the house will be filled with more than just two. My hubs is rare and easy to feed from a seemingly bare fridge and neglected cupboard. After all, he willingly counts chips and salsa or popcorn as dinner.
Yet, it feels as if I clicked my heals three times and here we are facing Christmas. Must we serve ham and turkey because we just finished leftovers from a couple weeks ago? I'd rather eat pork chops or meatballs or lasagna. I also have invitations for dinner to bring a shared dish and even one to bring 4-5 dozen cookies to exchange if I wish. Now, I'm feeding items to my endless grocery list. "If anyone can do the chaos of planning endless meals at Christmas, it's you!" my man insists, so therefore I must persist.
There are butterscotch Scotties, chocolate chip, and snicker doodle cookies to bake, along with a peach cobblers and pumpkin pies to make. Scheduling a small surgery on my wrist two weeks before the big day proves I obviously didn't think well ahead. Could this be my diet plan in disguise instead? I wasn't thinking I could only pick up 2-3 pounds or would have limitations. So much for being able to whip up some cookie batter without hesitation. Even typing this has been done in very small increments as I get back to using my hand in positions and with certain implements.
The Christmas tree and decor are lit. The sheets are cleaned and surfaces soon to be dusted. Ready for Christmas? Ready or not, here it comes!
When I'm asked that question each year, I'm learning to respond to it with a new sort of cheer. I'm learning to create a stable peace around Christmas time whether the cookies are made or the lights decide to shine. Jesus' birth calms my inner chaos whether thousands of years ago it was a silent night or not. Jesus was born in a stable, but I don't have to feel stable to be ready to celebrate His birth.
What is this stable birth? Consider that in Jesus' world families lived in a single-room house with the lower compartment for animals to be brought in at night. There was either a room at the back for visitors or space on the roof. The family living area usually had hollows in the ground filled with straw in the living area where animals would feed. This attached stable in the lower floor of a peasant house where animals were kept was where Jesus was birthed.
It's most encouraging to know that the Latin origin of stable means to stand, firm and steadfast. No matter our current upheaval, shaky emotional surroundings, or sinking sand feelings, we can be born in that stable with Him. We may find ourselves relegated to the many facets of cold, chaos, clutter, and critters in life. Yet, because He is with us, we can still stand firm and steadfast, with a stable peace.
It's no coincidence that the Master Creator has made all living things to physically maintain stable internal conditions. It's no wonder the Lord's Word calls us to consider how He cares for the birds and even for us. He created birds to fluff their feathers to create heat and us to shiver to warm our body and sweat to release heat. So when we are thrown off balance in life and the heat seems to rise, God with us births in us an ability to maintain stability.
He started His life in this stable way to remind us to live our lives in this stable way. Life will not go according to our plan. We might find, at times, we are on a journey of many dark nights. We might find ourselves pregnant with fear. It might seem our well-being is being plotted against. We might live in animal kingdom type chaos where only the fittest seem to survive. He begs us to go back to the beginning and live His simple stable way.
No matter how chaotic and unstable life seems and no matter the lowly circumstances we find ourselves enveloped in, He will stand firm, steadfast with us.
This Christmas when someone asks, "Are you ready?" I am! I'm leaning into Christmas in His Stable Way.
How are you handling the chaotic Christmas season? Are you asking me if I'm stable?It may imply, "Have you purchased all your gifts?" Why yes, I have. Amazon has quickly delivered most to my door, but I am waiting on two more. A few others were found in stores I've explored.
I'm sure it begs if I will be a ready host? I've gotten away with quick meal planning, but soon the house will be filled with more than just two. My hubs is rare and easy to feed from a seemingly bare fridge and neglected cupboard. After all, he willingly counts chips and salsa or popcorn as dinner.
Yet, it feels as if I clicked my heals three times and here we are facing Christmas. Must we serve ham and turkey because we just finished leftovers from a couple weeks ago? I'd rather eat pork chops or meatballs or lasagna. I also have invitations for dinner to bring a shared dish and even one to bring 4-5 dozen cookies to exchange if I wish. Now, I'm feeding items to my endless grocery list. "If anyone can do the chaos of planning endless meals at Christmas, it's you!" my man insists, so therefore I must persist.There are butterscotch Scotties, chocolate chip, and snicker doodle cookies to bake, along with a peach cobblers and pumpkin pies to make. Scheduling a small surgery on my wrist two weeks before the big day proves I obviously didn't think well ahead. Could this be my diet plan in disguise instead? I wasn't thinking I could only pick up 2-3 pounds or would have limitations. So much for being able to whip up some cookie batter without hesitation. Even typing this has been done in very small increments as I get back to using my hand in positions and with certain implements.
The Christmas tree and decor are lit. The sheets are cleaned and surfaces soon to be dusted. Ready for Christmas? Ready or not, here it comes!When I'm asked that question each year, I'm learning to respond to it with a new sort of cheer. I'm learning to create a stable peace around Christmas time whether the cookies are made or the lights decide to shine. Jesus' birth calms my inner chaos whether thousands of years ago it was a silent night or not. Jesus was born in a stable, but I don't have to feel stable to be ready to celebrate His birth.
What is this stable birth? Consider that in Jesus' world families lived in a single-room house with the lower compartment for animals to be brought in at night. There was either a room at the back for visitors or space on the roof. The family living area usually had hollows in the ground filled with straw in the living area where animals would feed. This attached stable in the lower floor of a peasant house where animals were kept was where Jesus was birthed.
It's most encouraging to know that the Latin origin of stable means to stand, firm and steadfast. No matter our current upheaval, shaky emotional surroundings, or sinking sand feelings, we can be born in that stable with Him. We may find ourselves relegated to the many facets of cold, chaos, clutter, and critters in life. Yet, because He is with us, we can still stand firm and steadfast, with a stable peace.
It's no coincidence that the Master Creator has made all living things to physically maintain stable internal conditions. It's no wonder the Lord's Word calls us to consider how He cares for the birds and even for us. He created birds to fluff their feathers to create heat and us to shiver to warm our body and sweat to release heat. So when we are thrown off balance in life and the heat seems to rise, God with us births in us an ability to maintain stability.
He started His life in this stable way to remind us to live our lives in this stable way. Life will not go according to our plan. We might find, at times, we are on a journey of many dark nights. We might find ourselves pregnant with fear. It might seem our well-being is being plotted against. We might live in animal kingdom type chaos where only the fittest seem to survive. He begs us to go back to the beginning and live His simple stable way.
No matter how chaotic and unstable life seems and no matter the lowly circumstances we find ourselves enveloped in, He will stand firm, steadfast with us.
This Christmas when someone asks, "Are you ready?" I am! I'm leaning into Christmas in His Stable Way.
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