I Wonder--December 19

So are you ready? Are all the gifts purchased and wrapped? Do they sit under the tree ready for Monday morning, or like us, do you have them neatly stacked on the hearth or some other common location in your home?

The time is almost up. . . and that realization comes with a mixture of emotions.  

Today after lunch I will purchase a final gift for Emma that will sit nicely in her stocking. Then all my Christmas obligations will be handled. (And yes, that was a deliberate word choice). 

Christmas feels so obligatory; it feels like a beast to tame. I know that walking into the store to get Emma's final gift will be a test of patience. The hustle and bustle will press down around me and I will want to retreat to my audiobook and remove myself the community entirely. . . 

But is that what we are supposed to do? 

Does the Incarnation of Jesus, and the joy of Christmas, ask us to retreat? To pull back? Does Jesus ask us to roll our eyes or silently ridicule another person whose is causing us to alter our timing and pacing?

In that case, I wonder if any of us are truly ready for Christmas? Perhaps this final week before Christmas offers us a chance to encounter our community differently? Perhaps God is showing us an opportunity where we can extend the miracle of the incarnation into the life of another person. 

I wonder if this week, as you too venture back out to finish your preparations, I wonder if you will notice the people around you and ask God how he would have you care for them?