Making Room for Jesus

Dear Friends,

One of the blessings of the pandemic is we had to pare down to the bare minimum.  It is a gift to pare down to the minimum and then decide what it is you really want to do. 

For me, it meant being clear with my family that on Christmas day all I wanted to do was “nest” at home and make soup and scones with a friend to share with my roommates.  It meant not pulling out all the decorations but a subset of them both for home and for church.  At church, I didn’t plan for a huge event at Christmas that was centered on my doing.  Instead, I let others take the lead in creating and implementing the giveaways and the table for the candles on Christmas Eve.  And, for the first time I didn’t preach the Christmas Eve service, but let the music and scripture tell the story. 

I love that we began with the quiet candlelight and ended with the joy of a fully lit sanctuary and spirited song.    Looking back upon it, the service needed a reflective pause, so I’ll add in a short message next year—but that’s the point, there is room to add. 

In the sermon titled “Christmas Reflections,” I suggest we all see ourselves as the innkeeper in the Christmas story, called to make room for the birth of Jesus.  As we begin to plan for 2022, let us make plans that give room for Jesus to grow and move in our lives.  

The first response I am given when I reflect on making room for Jesus is it means making plans that allow others to give the best of themselves who want to give the best of themselves.  I can’t hold anyone up for long so I’m going to stop trying.  Support means, being a shoulder upon which to balance, not having to carry someone up a hill. 
Your turn.  What does it mean for you to make a plan where Jesus has room to grow in your life? 
Please share your answers with me or another.  When we share our truth we become more conscious and more able to live by that truth.  We make room for Jesus.

Love, Pastor Heather