Excuse Me, Excuse Me!
By Jeannine Sawall
“All the nations you have made will come and worship
before you, O Lord;
they will bring glory to your name.”
Psalm 86:9
A
friend of mine sets up an elaborate Christmas village every year filled with
varying landscapes, houses and scenes, all centered around a manager where the
baby Jesus lays. The highlight of her village, though, is not the people
or the landscapes, but the hundreds of miniature animals she places throughout
each scene.
One
day, she came into her living room and found her granddaughter playing with the
animals of the Christmas village; however, instead of pretending the animals
were being kind to one another, she had the animals in lines in front of some
of the stores and houses. She had them roaring at each other and fighting to
get in because the sales were on and they wanted to find the best deals!
"No,
sweetie, the animals wouldn’t be fighting to get into the stores. They
would be quiet and gentle because Jesus is near," my friend told her granddaughter,
hoping that a gentler story line would save some wear and tear on her animal
collection. A while later, as she went to check on her granddaughter, she
was surprised to see all the animals in a big pile; one on top of the other,
right in front of the manger where baby Jesus lay.
"What's
going on with the animals now?" she asked, half-expecting her
granddaughter to explain another animal brawl. "Well Grandma,"
she replied, "the animals are all so excited about seeing the baby Jesus,
they just can't wait! They are all saying 'Excuse me, excuse me, can I please
get through...I want to see Jesus.’"
I love
this story and the picture it paints of our Christmastime. How easy is it to
get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season? We find ourselves
fighting our way through lines and to-do lists and, in the midst of this
busyness, we lose sight of the baby lying in the manger.
Instead
of pushing our way through crowds and countless tasks that this season seems to
bring, let’s remember the one thing that's worth getting excited about:
Jesus! While holiday traditions are fun and gifts are good, Jesus is the
only One who deserves our worship. This Christmas, let our heart- cry be,
"Excuse me, excuse me...I want to see Jesus."
GOING
DEEPER:
1.
In the midst of the busyness, what can you do to stay focused on Jesus this
Christmas season?
2. Are you as excited about wanting to see Jesus
as you are about finding the best gifts?
FURTHER
READING:
Jeannine is a wife and mother of four active
boys. She works in property management and is a part of the Special Events team
for Oakwood’s We Women ministries.
