When I was little, it was all about presents. I have a vague memory about being super impatient to open all my gifts at the family gathering. Sure, I was happy to see everybody, but what mattered most to me was what was inside those green and red wrapped boxes lying under the tree.

Then as I got older, it was less about my own presents and more about getting the right gift for someone else and seeing their face when they opened it. I loved finding that perfect gift that meant something for the people in my life who meant so much to me.

Now, it’s more about presence. Simply having everyone around the dinner table on Christmas Eve is enough. I might even go so far as to say that even without presents, I’d still be thankful to gather with my mother, father, sister, brother-in-law, nephews, niece, and brother-in-law’s father. Just seeing all their faces made my heart full. That and eating my weight in lasagna. But mostly the faces.

I think about one day when I will be in the presence of the Jesus whose birth is why we’re making such a fuss over Christmas. Then I will know in full. Then my faith will be made sight. On occasion, I am a little envious of those who have gone before me because they’re celebrating Christmas at the best party with the best people and the best possible host, Jesus Himself. They’re at home.

In the meantime, I’m thankful to have people rather than things. Things wear out and break down, but things can be replaced. You can buy a bigger, faster, stronger, upgraded version at some point that will make you forget the old car or the old coat. But the people in your life are what transforms your life from merely existing and taking up space to truly being alive. People were and are God’s business (and should be ours as well).

I hope there will be lots more birthdays, 4th of Julys, Easters, Thanksgivings, and Christmases because of the people that I love who will be there. Truly I am blessed.

I read something from G. K. Chesterton recently that made me stop in my tracks. It said that at the incarnation, the omnipotent became impotent. Basically, the omnipotent God that even the entire universe can’t contain became an impotent infant who was as helpless as any other human baby and could fit comfortably in Mary’s arms.

C. S. Lewis once wrote that a manger once held something that was bigger than our entire world. The infinite became human and pitched His tent among us, as John 1 says. That’s the staggering paradox that doesn’t fit comfortably on a bumper sticker on a car.

Christmas isn’t just a nice image of a mother holding a newborn baby boy with proud father hovering over and shepherds drawing near. Christmas is God as a baby, laying in a manger and destined for a cross. Christmas is where the impossible became reality and where darkness and despair turned to hope and light.

Christmas means that on the longest night of the year, there is a hope that is on its way. There is a joy that’s coming. Yes, technically the shortest day of the year is four days before Christmas, but the nights are still longer than the days at this point. Sometimes, evil and wrong seem to be stronger and the wrong side seems to be winning.

Yet in that moment of apparent defeat, victory comes in the form of a baby laying in the straw. The Glorious Impossible (one of my favorite Christmas songs ever) is born. The defeat of sin, death, and hell that was sealed on the cross begins in a manger. Let all heaven and earth rejoice.

Lord, many of us are not where we thought we’d be at this point. Some of us are without jobs. Some are grieving the death of a loved one. Some are barely hanging on and doing their best to put one foot in front of the other.

We don’t know what the next hour will bring, much next the next day or month or year. We don’t know what to do next, but our eyes are on You. Our response is similar to Mary’s — “How will this be?” (Luke 1:43a, ESV) We have no clue how You will act, but we’re praying and believing in faith that You will.

We believe, only help our unbelief. Help us to go from “Lord, I don’t know how I’m going to do this” to “Lord, I can’t wait to see how you do this” with the emphasis not on our circumstances or even on ourselves but on You.

We can truly say with Job that you give and you take away, but blessed be Your name. We only know that You alone are enough, no matter what happens tomorrow or the next day. You will always be enough.

Thank you in advance for however You choose to meet our needs. Though we can’t see or hear You or make sense of what You’re doing — and even if You slay us — still we will choose to trust in You, now and forever. Amen.