The Power of Focus

Thank goodness that everywhere I have been, there have been the sights and sounds of Christmas constantly before me. It helps me focus on "the reason for the season." I have contemplated the journey of Jesus from the wooden manger to the wooden cross, how joyous was his coming with angels on high celebrating and how tragic his death with loved ones mourning. And then the resurrection with victory finally ours and HIs.

I have chosen this season to do an advent reading each night before going to bed to support my mind to keep this priority. But actually, that is my challenge every day: to remember why I am here and what it is all about. Like a sheep, I am drawn to the next little patch of grass, forgetting for the moment that I was on a journey foll0wing the Good Shepherd .

I pray that as the manger scene takes place in my heart day after day, as Christ is born afresh, that He will not be aborted in my heart, nor that He will be stillborn, but that He will be birthed and made known through my life. My favorite passage for Christmas is Galatians 4:19: Paul laboring in birth "until Christ is formed in you". Making room in our "inn", clearing a space, for the formation of Christ, must be a conscious, daily, intentional choice. So let it be.