A recent TV commercial for a particular automobile features a high speed
family. While everything else in the picture seems to be in real time speed
and motion, the high speed family is a blur when it moves. They dash between
school and work situations and then off to recreational things pausing only
long enough to tout the virtues of the vehicle made for today's fast paced
family.
And boy, are we ever faced paced. Every place we go and everything
we do is in a hurry. We even have to hurry when we are on vacation. In our
household we have three high schoolers. Their schedules are almost overwhelming
when they start clashing together. Sometimes they have to be at school in
the morning at three different times and will get home in the evening at
three different times.
Speed is an emotional and spiritual killer when it comes to
the Christmas season. Even in preparation for the first Christmas, God had
Mary, Jesus' mother, slow down (read Luke 1:39-45).
Things started moving fast when Mary became pregnant by God's Spirit. This
teenager was suddenly facing a drastic change in her life. She got away
for while by providentially visiting her cousin Elizabeth, who was pregnant
with John the Baptist. You get a feeling of relaxed retreat when you read
this.
One of the reasons so many of us get so we don't enjoy the
holidays is because we don't take time to reflect on the birth of Christ
and all that meant to us. Start today taking time each day before rushing
off into the mayhem, to prayerfully reflect on God's great gift of love
He shared with us through the birth of His Son Jesus. SLOW
DOWN!
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