It seems that everywhere you look, the countdown is on. That is, the countdown to Christmas. And this is something to celebrate, not to stress about! I’ve been sharing some of my own thoughts and thoughts from friends and other bloggers about making space for God in this holy season. Today, I want to share with you a guest post from Laura Crosby’s blog, Experiences of Everyday Grace. Even if you’ve already put up your tree, this is a great practice to make space for God and to prepare your hearts for Jesus’s birth.

Interrupting Your Busy

I’m guessing if you are reading this at all it’s on your phone and you’re scrolling through while you’re in line at Target, or waiting for your morning coffee to brew, or idling in the carpool line to pick up your kid from hockey, school, church, a friend’s house…You fill in the blank.

This season, in addition to all the everyday busy, we’ve got holiday busy thrown in and our soul cries out for “all is calm, all is bright” and a sleep filled with “heavenly peace”.  We want Jesus. We want to meet Him and talk to Him and truly step into the wonder of His birth.

This weekend we set up our Christmas tree and as I was decorating it I stumbled on a practice that was so simple and meaningful I thought I’d share it with you. It doesn’t matter if your tree is already decorated. You can still do it.

Here it is. Pray your ornaments. 

That’s it. Simple. Choose one ornament at a time and pray for the person or place or value it represents.

When I hung an ornament from Bethlehem I prayed for all my peace-seeking friends in the Middle East.

When I hung an ornament from Amsterdam I thanked God for Maggie and the memories we shared there together, and when I hung the homemade angel Katy made I prayed for her.

When I hung an ornament that a friend had made who is very sick, I prayed for healing.

When I hung the ornament I got in memory of my brother, I prayed for comfort and joy for his family.

You get the idea. If your tree is up, maybe just take some time in the quiet glow tonight and go around praying your ornaments. If you have kids, have them each choose one to pray for.

Ok, you’re probably to the front of whatever line you’re in. Look for Jesus and joy wherever you are today!