"The stockings were hung by the chimney with care..." This is it! The final stretch. By this time next week, our thoughts will be trained on resolutions for the new year and how we plan on staying awake until midnight. So, let me ask you, how have you found yourself this season? Frazzled? Fragmented? Frugal? Maybe this has been a season of grieving. Maybe this year's been especially tough, and you would prefer to simply get on with it. Maybe you've found yourself content with quiet moments or constantly surrounded by the laughter and conversation of family. When it comes right down to it, have you found yourself grateful?
I spent the quiet times of November reading Scripture about gratitude. What excellent timing, that we approach the season of God's greatest Gift with hearts prepared by Thanksgiving (thanks giving)! It took me only ten days to burn that to the ground. On the 1st of December, I jockeyed and jostled to find a moment to get my husband a birthday card. It didn't happen, but it was because we were spending those days together, enjoying each other's company and beginning to tackle our holiday list. On the 5th of December, I began reading Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts. On the 7th of December, I took the time to notice a precious gift we received: a young boy's wonder, an unguarded moment. So far, so good. But on the 9th of December, the wheels began to wobble. No time for quiet, too much to do. Traffic and time constraints. People-ing and waaaaay too many options. On the 10th came the crash. I overate. I snapped at my husband. I didn't exercise. My Bible lay unopened and my journal untouched. Ironically, just weeks before, I'd read the account of the ten lepers in Luke 17:11-19. Jesus healed all of them, but only one --a Samaritan --returned to thank Him. Jesus responds with, "Your faith has made you well." The Complete Jewish Bible renders it, "Your trust has saved you," and the King James says, "Thy faith has made thee whole." The Greek word is sozo, the same word used in Matthew 1:21:
And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.
The leper, like the other nine, was healed of his physical condition, but it was his gratitude that drew him back to Jesus where he was able to be saved, to be made whole. It's difficult to be grateful when we're not really present, when we're rushing from one task to another, focused only on what "must be done" rather than what Jesus has already done. It is finished!
In these last few days, I would encourage you to put down the phone, forget the list for a few moments, and focus on the completed work of Jesus Christ. The Savior of the world has come, and He desires intimacy with His people. Wholeheartedly, consistently, and humbly pursue Him. He reveals Himself to us, as He always has, through the world around us. Pause. Give thanks. Be made whole.
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