Let every heart prepare him room.
Joy to the World, written by Isaac Watts (1719)
Our college kids will be home for Christmas soon!
Floors are being swept and mopped while beds are being made.
A menu has been prepared with much-loved home-cooked meals.
The fridge is stocked, and favorite snacks are in the cupboard.
Our home is being prepared for the arrival of three very special guests, and my heart can hardly handle the waiting.
Soon.
They will be home soon.
***
There is a meme circulating. Mary and Joseph have arrived in Bethlehem. Joseph is apologizing to Mary for not booking a reservation at any of the local inns. Mary is irritated but responds to Joseph with, “I’m fine!” And anyone reading the meme would know that Mary is definitely not fine.
Most of our traditional nativity stories imply that Mary and Joseph were unprepared for their stay in Bethlehem. But the reality was that due to the census, Joseph’s family home—where they intended to stay—was full. Rather than stay in one of the guest rooms, Joseph’s family relocated the couple to the stable, where the animals were kept.
Whether one chooses to believe the traditional story or abide by the more accurate explanation of how the nativity unfolded, one thing we can be very certain of is that the place and time of Christ’s birth were intentional.
The stable may seem awfully primitive for a King, but this setting was exactly the way God ordered the events of that night.
Humble.
Unassuming.
Away from the congested home where family members were bumping up against each other throughout the day.
A place to prepare and make space for a newborn baby.
And in this stable, amongst the animals and the smells and the hay and the braying, Immanuel, God with us, was born.
In the well-known hymn, Joy to the World, one of the lines in the first verse says, “Let every heart prepare him room.”
How are you preparing your heart this Advent season?
What would making room for Jesus look like for you?
As I am busy with all the preparations before our kids arrive for Christmas, I am also taking time to pull away from the noise and hustle, the online social media chaos, and the urgent to-do list, to give God a more attentive me.
Lighting the Advent candles on Sunday, taking turns reciting the Scriptures and responding, singing hymns, and praying as a family, draws our attention away from ourselves and onto the One whom we celebrate.
Each evening when we light the Advent candle and read the devotional for the day, we are setting aside time to abide with Christ as a family.
This is how we are making room.
Don’t miss out on the preciousness of this season.
Don’t let the clutter of Christmas crowd out the beauty and wonder and joy of Christ’s birth.
Open wide your heart and prepare a place for Him to stay.
Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.
Luke 3:4
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