Preparing Our Hearts for ChristmasSample

Ten-Foot Tree or Nativity

It’s easy to get caught up in the bright lights and traffic-stopping decorations, but those things can never fill our soul. 

A ten-by-eleven-foot window sat in the family room of my childhood home. Every December we put a ten-foot Christmas tree in front of it. We cut it by hand from a tree farm, forever seeking the biggest one for our window display. The whole neighborhood drove by to see it lit up with a huge handmade, lighted star on top. For my sisters and me, it wasn’t really Christmastime until the tree was there.

Enjoying Christmas trees, lights, wreaths, and snowmen isn’t bad. But as I’ve gotten older and closer to my Savior, my most favorite decoration—the one that signals Christmas has arrived—is no longer a Douglas fir in my living room. Now it’s the nativity scene. 

This delicate and detailed scene holds a prominent place in my kitchen, since that’s where my family hangs out the most. Three wise men, shepherds, animals, Mary, and Joseph are there, but the most precious figurine is the tiny baby in a manger, centered in the space, standing out from the rest. 

Jesus. 

His presence signals the festivities have started. Our Savior has arrived! And therefore, so has the Christmas celebration.

Christmas isn’t about trees, lights, or presents. It’s actually not about a feeling. It’s about our Savior. 

Have you been looking for Christmas in the wrong places? Have you not given Christ His rightful place in your heart and festivities? There’s still time to find the true meaning of Christmas, to behold and adore Him. He who came to earth as a baby changed the world forever. He is the Messiah, the Lord.

He can change your world, as well. 

~Kristen Terrette