On Earth, PEACE

Hey y’all!  It’s three days till Christmas and honestly, it feels like the Christmas season is practically already over.  The parties, special music programs, the church meals… they all have been executed, enjoyed, and concluded.  Christmas gift shopping is wrapping up (pun intended).  And now, there are just three days remaining till the largest holiday of the year.  Three days without parties, special music programs, and church meals.  Three days of… nothing.

Woah.  We’ve been in the path of a continuous power hose for the whole month.  Places to go, people to see, programs to attend, gifts to wrap.  And yet when we read the Christmas story, we find shepherds outside watching sheep in the quiet of the night.  We find Mary riding a slow donkey to Bethlehem.  We find magi taking a trip which would have taken many, many months.  Yes, I’m sure they were all anxious to get where they needed to go, but ‘urgency’ doesn’t seem to be the key word in this beautiful, perfect story.  In fact, listen to what the angels told the shepherds:

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

~ Luke 2:14, KJV (emphasis mine)

I don’t know about you, but the hectic shopping trips to the mall, the cram choir practice sessions for music programs, the schedules chock full with parties; I don’t think they whisper God’s peace.

Don’t get me wrong: shopping trips to the mall aren’t necessarily bad things.  Neither are choir practices and parties.  I personally love shopping and singing and gathering with friends and family at Christmas time!  But we cannot allow those things to drown out the true meaning of Christmas and God’s message of peace.

So here we are: 3 days till Christmas.  I would like to encourage you to finish up whatever Christmas preparation you need to complete, and then just take some time to BE STILL.  It’s not a bad thing that the parties and shopping and events have all come to an end even though Christmas has yet to arrive.  Maybe it’s just God’s way of asking you to slow down and be still.  Maybe turn on some soft Christ-focused Christmas music in the background, grab a blanket, curl up by the tree with hot cocoa, and just spend some time reading God’s Word.  Rest in Him.  Experience the PEACE that only He can give you this season.

Merry Christmas, friends. <3