I’ve spent a lot of time lately thinking about how I’m not ready for Christmas, and I wonder how to slow down at Christmastime. I talk about that on today’s IG LIVE, which you can watch here!
I’m not ready for presents or parties or baking. Not ready for wonder or delight or making room for Jesus. I’m busy with the kids’ performances and my book deadline and the piles of clothing and stacks of books that litter our bedroom. I’ve been reminded that Jesus comes, in love, to people like me, who are busy and unprepared.
But I’ve also been reminded that Jesus does not come with fanfare or fireworks.
Jesus comes quietly– in the middle of the night, with only his parents and the shepherds to greet him.
Jesus comes to everyone, but he is noticed and welcomed by the ones who have been waiting—Elizabeth, a woman who was barren for years, Anna and Simeon in the temple, the wise men who notice the star. He is noticed by the ones who wait, the ones who move at what theologian John Swinton calls the pace of love. I could miss him if I stay busy and harried all the time.
As we race through this season of presents to wrap and cookies to bake and cards to send, I am reminded to wait, even if only for five minutes of sitting in stillness, for love to enter in.
If you are looking for ways to slow down in this season, here are four possibilities:
- Look up Micha Boyett’s The Slow Way podcast or the podcast Contemplative at Home. Both offer 10-15 minute guided prayer times.
- Say no to a party and snuggle up on the couch and watch a holiday movie
- Listen to Josh Garrels’ Christmas album or The Porter’s Gate Advent album
- Sit in front of some sort of light—a candle, a Christmas tree, a fire in the fireplace—and watch the light
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