I LOVE the Christmas season. I know I’m not alone in this and I also understand that not everyone feels the same way. For me, although by far not every moment growing up in my household of 6 was peaceful or happy, Christmas always was. At least in my mind, it was. And so, every year as December approaches, I anticipate Christmas with joy – the familiar songs, the old (and new!) Christmas movies, the baking, the giving of gifts, the pine-scented candles, the parties, the favorite snacks, the family time.   

Ok, so, although I DO love all of those things and they DO bring me joy, I have also realized since becoming an adult, and especially since becoming a parent, that some of the “Christmas magic” is robbed by the rush to “get ready” for Christmas. If I’m not careful, the hustle and bustle of the season can tend to overshadow the joy I’ve been anticipating. And that is why we must prepare. We must prepare not only for Christmas day, but for the gift of Christmas to change us in the way God intended it to change us.   

PREPARE: To make ready; to make necessary adjustments; to position yourself to receive your King and to receive His blessing.  God invites us to reject the busyness, turn down the noise, and offer Him space in our lives so that the King of Kings may enter, take up residence, and radically change us from the inside out. We can rush around “preparing for Christmas,” or we can slow down, adjust our priorities, consider the reality of Christ’s life within us, and respond to His miraculous work in our lives and in the world around us. Emmanuel is STILL with us, and He came to redeem every aspect of who we are.   

So, anticipate with joy the parties and the baking and the beauty of the Christmas season. But also, prepare your heart to receive the King in a fresh and life-changing way this Christmas. In the quiet moments you might spend sitting by the light of the Christmas tree, consider the reality of a God who would send His son to earth, an innocent baby who would grow up and die, so that we can be in relationship with Him, transformed by His love.