The crystal clear message that you are Loved
There’s a busyness in the office these last few days. It’s not a stressy or frenetic busyness. It’s a good busyness. Just now passing through our office kitchen I joined Stephanie to put fresh batteries in the last few candles that will light the ice luminaria on our church campus on Christmas Eve. Haley was tending the copy machine and looking for final proofs of the 8:30 p.m. worship bulletin. The lyric that came to mind was, “the stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hopes that St. Nicholas would soon be there.” True we might be more focused on Baby Jesus right now over here than on Saint Nick, but neither excludes the other.
What strikes me is the care that goes into these preparations. Leo on the ladder handing Rob and Tim poinsettias for the poinsettia tree. Ann adding bright red berries to the greenery strung around the church since Advent 1, while Travis rehearsed speaking roles with our kiddos in the pageant. Karen here on a Tuesday watering 225 poinsettias, so that they are perfect on the Babe’s birthday. The expertly decorated cookie. The crisp fold of a wrapped package and its neatly tied bow. The sentence or two of love written on the back of the Christmas card depicting the kids who are a year older than the last we saw.
It’s the little things, right? Sorry, we don’t have a room to accommodate you, but how about the barn? Brian, bring some blankets and towels and pillows and move the donkeys outside! Here’s an extra gift card to take the heat off your budget and some packages for the kids from the One22 Resource Center Holiday gift drive.
A rag-tag bunch of off-key carolers showing up at your door gives you the crystal-clear message that “you are LOVED.”
I thought just now, “What if? What if we did this all year long?” The next, almost immediate thought was, “You do. Y’all do. Y’all DO do those little things all year long.” Thank you, St. John’s. Thank you for your generosity, your care, and your love. Merry Christmas.
Love,
Jimmy
