We build this time of year around traditions and high hopes. Filling our days, weeks and spare moments with festivities and good intentions. Decor, gifts, time spent, the money given, family pictures, Christmas cards- they’re all wonderful and time-consuming. This year while preparing for our church’s Christmas worship event, I sat with my team and my pastor’s wife (who is a fabulous writer and concept developer) and discussed the challenges we face through the holidays and the message we hoped to share through this service. 

Many reading this article face a common challenge. We look at our calendars with anxiety, wondering how we possibly can make this thing we call life work. We have our normal lives that seem to take over and then you add those joyful holiday traditions and the excitement you feel settles into a weariness that can’t be fixed with sugar cookies alone (but almost).

This is nothing new, the long-standing struggle to have it all tends to do a little more than wear us down and stress us out. As we sat there planning our Christmas worship event, we all were drawn to a common theme- preparing of our hearts for whatever God might have for us. Hence “Prepare Him Room.”  

This concept has stuck with me through the past couple of months, prompting me to examine my personal life, how I spend my time, where I expend my energy and what matters most to me. It is humbling to see just how much the mundane can take over, how the normal routine of life can steal away my attention when I stop guarding my time and intentions as I should.

In the Christmas story, we find examples of people making room in their lives for a Savior. Mary is the shining example we can look to, setting aside her own desires to make room for a miracle. She couldn’t have known how her personal sacrifice would change the world, but she trusted her God. Joseph trusted the word from the Lord and let the social norms pass him by, trusting for something blessed and anointed. We could dive into the rest of the players in this story, but what you will find in each one is a heart for more. Not more money, more value, more status, but rather they found themselves drawn to someone who would make all the earthly things fade into the background. They longed for something that would make everything else make sense. They longed for their Savior.

During the holidays our lives can feel so busy and packed, but somehow… empty. It is our hearts cry for that missing piece. Mary understood the value of setting aside the tradition for something glorious. I’m not advocating we toss the trees or skip the stockings, but I am calling attention to the need to “prepare Him room” during this time.

So this season take some time to examine what matters most to you, and be sure to save some room for the Baby born in a manger who changed your world forever.

Olivia Black is a coffee lover and is always looking for a reason to bake a cake. She has a Bachelor’s in Organizational Leadership from ASU and an Associates in Music from Gateway College. She just recently married her other half, Brandon Black and together they serve at Lakeview Pentecostal Church in Blue Springs, MO.

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