Still

It's not picture-perfect, there are probably countless little pieces left undone.

Maybe hundreds of little surprises I might have planned; Kind words and wished I have left unsaid.

But it's done.

Christmas - the only holiday with a built-in deadline - is here. It arrived just a few moments ago.

The cat and I are the only ones up, though I have two kids that have tossed and turned and fretted about going to sleep . . . Ab may still be awake at this moment.

The gifts are awaiting them under the tree which still stands as a twinkling sentinel in the corner.

And for this moment it is . . . still.

Before fatigue takes over, perhaps I will be able to contemplate the season.

Still.

Do you remember when you first brought that newborn baby home and they finally drifted off to sleep? How quietly they lay. How peaceful.
Do you remember that tiny smacking of lips?

If you were like me, you were mesmerized by that little miracle.

Now imagine the same situation in an entirely different setting than your bedroom or nursery.

Imagine the Christ Child asleep in tightly swaddled cloths, protected from the cool night breezes by the sides of the feed trough in which He sleeps.

While I believe Jesus was both man and God and therefore He presented the typical problems a newborn ... diapers, crying, etc. - I believe there was some point that first night in which He was. . .

. . . still . . .

And perhaps Mary used those small snatches of time to unpack those thoughts she "pondered in her heart".

Stillness: it is God's occasional gift to us that allows us to process the significance of all the events around us.

.... the message of a Christmas Eve service - to join the Song of Redemption and take the light of Jesus Christ that is within us, to a dark world . . .

...the stories that have been shared during recent gatherings - which ones should be passed on to our children....

....the quiet cries for help from people too proud to ask . . .

. . . the seemingly insignificant remarks of my children . . . remarks that may need to be explored as I get to know them better ...

...the love of God that is proclaimed in so many songs in so many places during this wonderful season. . .

...the question of how I will pursue the purpose God has determined for me; and how will I lead my family to boldly do likewise?....

These are things worth pondering as Christmas comes and I am ....


....still ....