~ The Week Before Christmas ~

One week till Christmas! Only 7 days! 

When I woke up this morning all I kept thinking was what do you think Mary and Joseph were doing with only one week left? Only 7 days until the birth of their son, Jesus!

Well, I imagine Mary didn't want to do a whole lot of anything considering she was great with child and Joseph was very busy trying to get registered and find a place for Mary to be comfortable to give birth. 

I opened my Bible this morning to the passage I have been immersing myself in this whole  month....the book of Luke. Do you know there was not one mention of Mary and Joseph scurrying around trying to find the perfect gift for their relatives, some of which they hadn't seen in a year? There was no mention of them going to the mall, Mayfaire, Walmart, or Target trying to get gift cards and wrapping paper. No mention of them scouring Pinterest for new recipes to "wow" their family at the Christmas dinner. No, not one mention of any of the chaos!

I have always loved reading through scripture and imagining myself right in those very pages. When I open that precious Book, it comes alive! In my reading this morning, I tried to wrap my feeble brain around what Mary was going through. One week till she was to give birth to the Messiah! What an honor, what a calling! I imagine she was trying to take good care of her health as she was carrying the Savior of the world. I'm sure she was quite uncomfortable being that pregnant and she was probably ready for it to be over. But most  importantly, I imagine she was in an attitude of prayer and worship as she prepared her heart for the the next step in this magnificent journey. She was going to be responsible for nurturing and bringing up the Son of God. She would feed him, clothe him, rock him to sleep. She would run and play with him, sing him songs, and tell him to clean his room. She would be his mother! I'm sure she was preparing her heart because the very One whom she would give birth to, would be the very One who would save her from her sins. Wow! That is powerful! 

"But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.  You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,  and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” 

Luke 1:30-33 (NIV84)

So, you see, there was no record of Mary scrambling around shopping in the madness one week before Christmas and after searching the scriptures and reading the account of her heart for God, I imagine that she was doing just what I should be doing....preparing my heart for the greatest birthday ever. The birthday of my JESUS! I should be so focused on HIS PRESENCE that I do not worry everyone else's PRESENTS!

Oh, sweet Jesus, I love you! You are the REASON for this blessed season and as much as I try to focus on you, my mind can, so easily, get wrapped up in the craziness that your birthday has become. Please forgive me for putting others before you. This is ALL about YOU! Only 7 days till your birthday and I want to prepare my heart. I want to put aside the things of this world and focus on the Savior of this world! YOU, YOU, YOU! You are what this day is about. Jesus, I worship YOU! Jesus, I praise YOU! Jesus,  I LOVE YOU!

"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:10-11 (NIV84)