Merry Christmas Eve

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the power to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

This morning started out a little ugly in my house. The kids were arguing before the sun came up and I was facing a long day of frantic cleaning and baking before heading to the church for 10 hours of back to back services. I am not finding "Peace on Earth" this Christmas Eve. And so I stopped and read, not Luke's account of the birth, but John's explanation of the "Why". There are 2 very important things I get from this piece of scripture.

First, Christ is in the world, now, today. It is up to me to look around enough to recognize him. I can't do that if my focus is on getting the brownies in the oven and mopping the bathroom. I can't do that if I am joining the argument with my children instead of seeing how my stress is spilling over into their world.

Second, my children ARE my Christmas gift. Every day (even the ugly ones) they are a gift from God. They were born not out of my own choice or desire, but out of God's. So today, I will stop a bit of the madness and talk to them about Mary and Joseph and the excitement and fear of having a baby on the way. I have told each of them about the day they were born. Today, we will talk about how I felt and what was happening the day before. I can make the time for myself, my kids, and for God.

Merry Christmas Eve!