'Twas the Night Before

Mary and Joseph entered a tiny village with no where to bed;

She was very pregnant and perhaps he was filled with dread.

For where would they stay?

This blessed couple on whom the Christ child lay.

They were rejected by hotel and inn; 
but had knowledge that new life was about to begin.

Surrounded by the cold, the hay, the animals, the smell; 

But grateful the day had ended; e're not so well.

The stirrings began and soon came the One;

Who knew what had truly now begun?

Miles away the rough shepherds, like me and you; 

Looked to the sky and were startled anew.

But once they saw, once they heard;

There was no question that life would forever be altered.

They followed the love, they followed the call, they followed what their hearts could see.

He had come.  Finally, finally He had come.  No more hollow hearts, no more tears, no more striving to be more, finally freedom to be, to be who He created me to be.

Where do I find myself this week, this week before the birth?  Am I struggling to find rest?  Am I harried with the cold, dread of what lies ahead...the errands, the cooking, the company, the craziness we call Christmas.  Can I pull away and find the stillness that Mary and Joseph found in the birth place of Jesus?  Can I pull away and find myself as a shepherd in the quietness of a hillside?  For that is where the Glory will appear in this week before.  Choose for yourself today and break away to the quietness of the Christ.  He is coming.