It’s hard to believe—only six days until Christmas! The cards are written, the presents are wrapped (though a few are still waiting to be delivered), and the house feels ready for the season. Yet the calendar is still full: carol services, concerts, gatherings, and the steady rhythm of work right up until Christmas Eve.
This is the strange tension of mid-December. On one hand, the preparations are nearly complete. On the other, the pace hasn’t slowed. We’re still moving, still attending, still working. And in the midst of it all, Advent whispers: pause, breathe, remember why.
Luke 2:15 tells us: “When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’”
The shepherds didn’t wait until their work was finished or their schedule was clear. They went immediately, in the middle of their ordinary night shift, to see Jesus. Their example reminds us that encountering Christ doesn’t require everything to be perfectly in place—it requires a willing heart.
There is satisfaction in seeing all the cards stacked, and those that need posted, stamped as well; the gifts wrapped or placed in a Christmas gift bag. These small tasks are more than just things we needed to do: Each card carries connection, each gift carries thoughtfulness. They are reminders that Christmas is about giving, just as God gave His Son to us.
But there are still events to attend, people to see to deliver presents to, and work goes on. And that’s okay. Christmas doesn’t ask us to escape life—it asks us to welcome Christ into the midst of it. Whether in the quiet of a candlelit service or the bustle of a workplace, Emmanuel—God with us—is present.
So as we count down these final six days, may we carry both joy and peace. The preparations may be nearly complete, but the true gift is already given: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”(Luke 2:11)
The Distinct Dot 