Often, the smallest things grow into something HUGE! Whether it’s a habit, a routine, a legacy, a tradition – they all begin with one small step.
You probably have Christmas traditions that you have created and practiced over the years. They may have even started with your parents or grandparents or several generations of your family.
In our family, we have some familiar ones:
· We go to Christmas Eve candlelight service together.
· We open one gift on Christmas Eve.
· We bake a ‘Happy Birthday, Jesus’ cake.
· We try to stay in our pajamas all day long and do as little as possible and just be with one another.
None of these traditions are handed down. We created these ourselves – little by little, over time. We started by doing them once, enjoying the experience, and repeating it again year after year. I am certain many of these will stay with my kids as they raise their own kids.
The same is true of our relationship with God. You may have some pretty solid habits in place when it comes to worshiping and serving Him. Or you may not even know where to begin.
Someone recently shared this quote with me about God and becoming aware of His presence:
“He does not ask much of us, merely a thought of Him from time to time, a little act of adoration, sometimes to ask for His grace, sometimes to offer Him your sufferings, at other times to thank Him for the graces, past and present, He has bestowed on you, in the midst of your troubles to take solace in Him as often as you can. Lift up your heart to Him during your meals and in company; the least little remembrance will always be the most pleasing to Him. One need not cry out very loudly; He is nearer to us than we think.”
It is from a book of teachings entitled, “The Practice and Presence of God”. These are teachings from Brother Lawrence, born Nicolas Herman, a 17th-century friar. The basic theme of the book is the development of an awareness of the presence of God.
This struck me as a very pleasant sentiment about our interactions with God. Whether we don’t know Him at all, find ourselves too busy, or have a great habit of spending time in His presence, it is nice to hear that He is always near and any little thing we give is pleasing to Him.
This is an encouragement to begin a new tradition with your friends or family or even just for yourself. Begin a holiday tradition that includes God. It can be any little thing. A prayer before a meal, a quick ‘thank you, Jesus’ before opening gifts, a reading of Jesus’ birth in Luke 2:1-20 or may even bundling up and joining Koinonia Church outside, under the stars, for a quick candlelight service.
Do these things as a way to connect and celebrate the birth of the Savior.
Perhaps it will become the small thing that becomes a big tradition that you want to continue for years to come.
It’s the little things. These sayings exist because they are SO TRUE! It IS the little things! It is the small things that add up to become something incredibly wonderful.
I pray your Christmas is full of love and peace. I pray that you draw closer to the one who created you. I pray that you begin, or continue, doing a little thing that adds up to a big wonderful thing.
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy…” -Psalm 16:11
Merry Christmas.
Sylvia Gaston
Connection and Development Pastor
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