A few years back while surveying all the goodies at a garage sale, I found a beautiful nativity. It was a handmade gold leafed work of art. As I picked up each piece amazed at the details, I noticed it was missing baby Jesus.
I asked the seller, “Does this nativity have Jesus? He seems to be missing.”
“Oh, the kids lost baby Jesus, and we were never able to find him.” We both laughed and I purchased the nativity anyway. I bought it as a reminder that Christmas is not Christmas without the baby in the Manger.
Every year I start December with a firm resolve to make the month more meaningful. But somewhere between December 1st and the 24th, while singing, Joy to the World and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, I lose the joy and abandon the merry. I get tangled up in my lists and expectations of the season and lose baby Jesus in the middle of it all.
I need to be reminded of the real hope and meaning of the season, because Christmas isn’t always the most wonderful time of the year. Some are walking through the month just holding on. Maybe that’s you. Even when your circumstances scream otherwise, remind yourself that Jesus is the God who is with you.
Knowing that Jesus is with us in the middle of the edits, deadlines and stress of writing projects is crucial. Over time the expectations of book deals, contracts, platforms and followings can overwhelm us, and we can have a hard time finding Jesus in the middle of it all. When you can’t find the words to write or the hope to hold on—ask God to surround you with Himself. In doing so, you will take Christmas into every day of the new year.
As we prepare to celebrate Christmas, let’s hold on to the hope of Jesus in the center of the story. He isn’t missing. He is with us. And, that my writer friend is the story of Christmas. God with us.
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means, “God is with us.” Matthew 1:23
The greatest gift of all came to the world in a plain farm field underneath a starlit sky, in front of a few ordinary shepherds. God was in the details then and is in the details of our individual lives now. Immanuel is all we need—and He is with us.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas remembering who God is and how much He loves you.
Thank you for this post. It is a balm.
Baby Jesus, lost. Or packed away till next year.
A preacher from my childhood always had the congregation sing an Easter song at Christmas and a Christmas carol at Easter. He wanted us to remember the cross as we worshipped Baby Jesus and to remember the manger when we knelt at the cross.
Wonderful reminder, Janet. Merry Christmas!
What a beautiful reminder, Debbie! As I do Christmas clean up today and look out on a foot of fresh snow (that my poor husband has to plow) it is so good to remember that God is with us in the bright celebrations, the chores, and each moment in between.