I Lost Jesus

When I was looking for a nativity set for our home it was important to me to find one where the baby Jesus figure was separate from the manger. It is tradition for us to wait to put out the Jesus figure on Christmas Eve. This year as we were setting out our decorations I put the baby Jesus away someplace safe and obvious so that I could bring it out on the 24th. Needless to say, I can't remember where that was.

As I was searching the house, I started thinking about my Christmas preparations and expectations and realized that, unfortunately, in the midst of all that is going on, I often lost sight of Jesus. Try as I might, staying focused on the source of the joy for this season has been a struggle. I try to plan activities that will keep our family pointed in the right direction, and they do help, but it is all too easy to move on after a particular Bible reading, advent activity or other Christ focused time and move Him to the back of our minds.

I began to realize how much this is like my search for the figurine. I've been looking all over the place to make Jesus real to us this holiday. Not that that is a bad thing. It is good for us to seek to put Him first now and always, but sometimes I miss seeing Him because I am too busy looking. I might do well to remember to stop and listen, to reflect, to start my day by asking Him to reveal Himself in a special way. I think that we did better as a family focusing on Christ than we have, but until each day is totally centered on the Lord of lords, I will keep looking for Him. I hope that you will too.