The One Thing You Don’t Want to Miss This Christmas

Dear Friend,

Five days until Christmas!!! Can you believe it? Hopefully your shopping list is getting checked off and you can find time to sip on a warm drink and rest before the big celebration.

How are you holding up? How is your heart? This time of year, it’s beautiful but it’s busy and can feel overwhelming. Is there enough money to pay the bills and buy the kids Christmas gifts? How will we fit in the relatives with our own busy schedule of events? Will our children come home for Christmas or how will we walk through this Christmas without …?

Questions, concerns, worries, they flood our minds and we can become weary, downcast even during this special season. I have been there.

May I ask you a question? Are you finding time to spend with Jesus this season? You know the One we are celebrating in five days, the King of Kings who came to earth as a baby, who was sent by His father as a gift to you and I. This gift, the greatest gift ever given who came to save, to love, and to lead us. It’s hard to comprehend sometimes I know.

I don’t know about you but I don’t want to miss this part about Christmas. I don’t want another year to go by and think, check another one down. I want to experience Him more than ever this Christmas. I want to know His heart so I can see and love the people He places in my path. I want to be still before Him so He can refresh my heart.

Don't let the hustle and bustle of the holidays keep you from missing this crucial part of Christmas.

We are living in a time where people are desperate for hope, for purpose, for love. In our desperation to find these things we look to things that fill us for the moment but are not lasting. I often see this as my kids anticipate opening gifts. This anticipation grows, they’re so excited, they hope they get this and this. To then open the gift, be filled with the satisfaction they hoped for and then to find it two weeks later under the bed forgotten. These kinds of gifts give us smiles but not lasting purpose, love or hope that we long for.

Can I challenge you as I challenge myself these next five days and even beyond to find time to be still, to pray and to listen to what God has to tell you during this season? He has proven over and over that when we spend time with Him, He can fill us with peace when we see a storm, love when we have hurt, forgiveness when we want revenge and hope when life seems hopeless.

Christ coming to earth was a miracle beyond anything we could have planned or expected. To come in the most innocent humble way blew the minds of many. A baby doesn’t really resemble a King. But this baby grew to be a man, who loved, who healed, who served, who struck out demons, who sacrificed His life because He loved us so much.

Friend, this Christmas may you remember that He came to earth for you. He came to show you the way to be with Him forever. He loves you so much and He is the best gift we can receive this Christmas.

Alesha Russell is a wife and mom to four. She is inspired to encourage the next generation to live out their calling, to leave a godly legacy. Her husband and her have been called to adopt through the foster care system. She writes about the joys and trials of their journey through life and through fostering. She enjoys country living, making memories with family and friends, and spending quiet time with the Lord.