A Prayer for Christmas.

Merry Christmas, darlings!

I hope your day has been filled with love and light and hot cocoa and really good coffee.

Tomorrow's the day we've been waiting for. The day where we remember how Jesus changed everything. The day with the presents and the hugs and the kisses and the laughter and the traditions (albeit, we may be having these moments virtually). Tomorrow's the big day, the happy day, the holy day.

And I wanted to offer this prayer on your behalf as we prepare for bed or to stay up or to set traps for Santa.

Please know that you are loved, worthy, and awesome and that I am holding space for you.

Dear Heavenly Father,

You are with us, always.

You came so that you could stay with us.

You came so that You could experience life with us.

You came so that You could understand us even though we'd never be able to understand You.

We are never beyond your outstretched arms, we are never too much for you. You are a wild, free, passionate God who takes delight in our quirkiness, in our messiness, in our humanity.

We thank You for your faithfulness in the face of faithlessness, and we thank You that would come as we all do -- weak, small, defenseless. (A god who comes defenseless as a babe -- who can process such a thing? How could we possibly begin to understand?)

Jesus, I pray that we would remember that the first Christmas was pretty simple, so it's OK if ours is, too. I pray that we would slow down, rest, and pay attention. That we would be present in the moment at hand and not sit in anxiety.

Jesus, I pray that we would be reminded of how loved we are. We may not be having a "normal" Christmas this year, but there is nothing normal when we consider You and the works of Your hands. We may not be with our families, but we are with You and that's just as good for us.

Lord, let us rejoice. Let us celebrate. Let us remember that fear has no place here, today, that fear doesn't get the last word. Your first breath was fear's last. Help us to put aside the fear of tomorrow and the traumas of the past simply for today as we rest in You and what You've done.

Jesus, we love You too. We really do. We don't want this day to go by without telling You how much we love You. We thank You, we praise You, we adore You.

Amen Amen Amen