Be Still & Know

Somehow time moved swiftly from Fall to Winter; from Thanksgiving to Christmas! We barely have time to turn around from one holiday to another. Almost all of us get swept into the mode of decorating, parties, baking, shopping, wrapping and making the never ending list of things still to be done.

By December 24th most of us collapse on the couch in exhaustion. Have we really stopped to think about the reason for all the excitement of Christmas? Little children are excited to see what Santa brought for them. My father was a pastor and I remember very clearly that when Christmas came on a Sunday, we were not allowed to look under the tree at the stack of gifts and no way could we peek at what Santa had left ….. until AFTER the morning worship service! I think I must have been a wiggly kid sitting in the church pew as I wondered how long my dad was going to preach and did the choir have to sing one more song !

Gifts are great (whether they are what we had on our list or not), but do we stop to think about the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh that the Wisemen brought? What did these symbolize? They were expensive gifts which tell us of the future of the Christ-Child : King, Priest and Savior. How many know much about the baby in the manger? One young boy told me he had never, never heard the story of who that baby was. The name Jesus was unfamiliar to him.

Do we stop to talk to people about the birth of Jesus, the Son of God, the Savior for you and me? Or do we just pass through the holiday season ‘assuming’ everyone knows who Jesus is ?

The year I had entered TWO Holiday Home Tours, I was exhausted and worn out. My energy was gone and I found myself in a pity-party of One ! Not a good place to be. Then the mail came and in it was this card: Be Still and Know That I AM GOD! I knew that but in my magical decorating I put that on ‘the back burner’. I needed to be reminded that in this season – He is Still God! The note inside was hand-written and my friend had some words of encouragement to share and I knew again the reality that God is never early, never late, but ALWAYS RIGHT ON TIME. He knew what I needed and when I needed it and He used my friend to remind me to BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD!

My prayer is that you will take the time meditate on the Biblical Story of the Birth of Jesus as written in Luke, Chapters 1 & 2. Take the time to Be Still and be reminded of Who God is.