The Miracle of Christmas

I read tonight that miracles happen whenever we look for shoots of Jesus' love everywhere.  Like a new branch springing forth from an old stump.  And I have to admit, it's hard to not only look for Jesus' love, but it's hard to find it even if you are looking. 

"Jesus comes as your little-yet-big miracle, who whispers to you in a noisy world: Right where you are, look for the small glimpses of my love unfurling around you like a slender leaf, like the branches of a tree, like the seeking limbs of a babe." - Ann Voskamp, excerpt from Unwrapping the Greatest Gift.

This evening, my boys fought with each other.  Jacob screamed about dinner and my insisting on his eating of green beans.  I tried to jog on my treadmill, though I had to hop off every three minutes to settle a dispute, take someone to the bathroom, and say no to a snack for the seventeenth time.  My living room floor is scattered with dirty socks and Batman toys and throw pillows that always manage to be thrown and never manage to stay on my sofa. 

Yet, I'm surrounded by the glow of our Christmas tree and the scent of vanilla and cranberry candles burning, filling the air with warmth and sweetness.  I am smiling after reading text messages from a new friend.  And I was blessed that my husband washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen after dinner tonight.

I'm somewhere between the beauty of the Christmas season and the reality of my life that is filled with it's own measure of chaos and the load I bear that often wears me out.  And when I stop to notice, there is evidence of His love shooting out. Jesus is faithful to let love grow again.

I don't know if I live like I really believe that miracles happen if we look for shoots of Jesus' love everywhere.  And I certainly don't know if I have a daily posture that not only looks for it, but exemplifies it.  But, I know that I want to.

And the miracle that happened still happens in the heart that will believe and receive the miracle of Christmas.....