Cindy Powell

Lord, I don’t get it.  I wouldn’t have planned it that way. You came in a way that was so humble, so unpretentious.  You made it seem almost … well … normal.  Help me to learn from that, Lord.  This Christmas, help me not to miss the supernatural by looking for the spectacular.  Help me not to miss the holy amongst the ordinary moments of life. Because that’s how You came.  You were born into an ordinary family.  You walked among ordinary men and women. Men and women just like me. The extraordinary in the midst of the ordinary.

Lord, there is so much pressure at Christmas time.  So many expectations.  Often, so many disappointments.  It’s easy to forget what’s important.  Remind me, Lord—in the busyness, in the commercialization, and even in loneliness and disappointments—help me to remember what’s important.  And what’s most important is You.        

Lord, I pray for “holy moments”—moments when I get it.  Moments when the eternal transcends the temporal.   Moments that cause me to pause and reflect on the miracle of who You are and what You’ve done for me.  Moments when I understand how extraordinarily valuable this ordinary life is to You.  Moments of realization that even the most humble and ordinary life can be transformed by Your simplest touch; by Your gentlest whisper.  They may be just moments, but hidden in my heart they’ll live forever.   They’ll change me forever.

Jesus, You are the reason for the season, but I know You’re also so much more.  I want You to be the reason for each and every moment of my life.  Be the reason for every breath; every heartbeat.   Help me to live a life that celebrates Your birth—Your life—each and every day of mine.   Most of all, Lord, I pray that maybe, just maybe, You will use this very ordinary life as a vessel of Your incredibly extraordinary love. 

In Jesus’ Name, Amen  

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NOTE: I wrote this for a Christmas tea I spoke at eight years ago (my how time flies!).  I ran across it again recently and decided to post it here.  May your Christmas be filled with an abundance of holy moments!  Blessings and shalom to you and yours ~Cindy