In This Moment

Photo by Susanne Jutzeler, suju-foto 
We are five days from Christmas, and no matter what we’ve done, we are not ready.

God knows this, it is why He gives us Himself at Christmas.  We were not ready then, and we are not ready now, and even knowing we are not ready, we are not fully willing to make ourselves so.   We wrestle with “how much do we need to do?”

The answer is, “How much must you do to love someone with your whole heart?”  That is the answer to making yourself ready for Our Lord.   You do and you do and you do, and still you wind up saying, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof.”  This world is our roof.  Our Lord enters in because He says the word. He is the word, and thus He comes.

We could Martha our homes and our souls all of the year, and still, we would not be ready for God’s breaking into our lives –He comes because He loves us.  He comes into our hearts whenever we allow Him.  He longs to make our hearts whole –with as much God-sized love as we will allow.

So when you feel overwhelmed, both by the tasks at hand, and by how little you’ve advanced in spiritual growth, in prayer life, in seeking to be a person of charity, of grace, of kindness and prudence, forbearance and courage, wisdom and patience, go back to the beginning point.  Be humble.  Tell God, “Father, forgive me.”  and “Father, I love you.” and “Lord, I know I am not worthy.” Mean it. Say it until you know you mean it deeper than the insides of your bones.   This is the clearing out of the soul, making the stable ready.  It is still messy. It is still smelly. It still is what it is, a stable.  Yet our Lord willingly rests in our smelly messy stable of a heart.

God delights in being there, in helping to still our busyness, in breathing into us, the Peace the world cannot give.
Thank God, God does not wait until we think we are ready.  God comes to help us become closer to being what we were always called to be.   God makes us ready.  He sets our feet on a path to Him.  Christmas is the starting point, from which we are to go and bring Him to others.