The Decluttering, Part 1

Prepare Him room🎼

I carry a sadness about Bethlehem, the people there. Not one person had an available room for a very pregnant teenage girl.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them (Luke 2:4-7).

Can you see this scene?

Mary trudging along aside Joseph to take care of ancient red tape kinda stuff, and perhaps her water breaks. Scripture tells us ‘the time came for the baby to be born’.

At the very least, Mary presumably doubled over, seeking a place off her feet.

But no Bethlehem business owner had a heart open to welcome new life, even if they were unaware it meant their own. I just can’t. I don’t want to believe inn keepers shut their doors to a woman in labor.

Over 2,000 years later, gender is a nebulous term. There are still Jesus-loving moms who give birth to sons and daughters no matter what the world says. That’s just it. The world denies Jesus birth and seeks to elevate its right to choose in its quest for non-Creation identities.

If Mary were my present-day friend, I would wrap her tight, encouraging her, affirming her braveness and OBEDIENCE. I would ask her so many questions in random, heart-felt order.

Was the barn smelly?

Was it private? We’re you at all concerned someone other than Joseph and the animals could see your womanly parts?

Was there anything you wished you had brought with you, if you had known your baby would lie in a manger? But I guess all earthly things paled in color after holding the Light of the World in your arms …

Prepare Him room🎼

Why do we as Americans think we NEED so many things?

Though the shepherds were invited by the heavenly host to go see the baby in the manger, a rather convincing display of His glory, the shepherds still could have chosen their job, their comfort, themselves … instead of visiting our Lord.

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Lets go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” (Luke 2:13-15).

The shepherds, unlike the inn keepers, followed God’s leading to receive His One and Only Son.

What clutter do we have in our homes, in our cars, in our minds, in our veins, in our hearts?

For when Jesus calls, it is time to let go of junk. Tidy our house. Deep-clean our souls.

“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak” ~Hans Hofman

How shall we make room for Mary to bring our Lord into the air we, too, breathe?

Advent affords us a timely opportunity to draw closer to Jesus.

However …

Mary Geisen reminds us we are given Advent work in each season of our lives, not just the four Sundays before Christmas:

“We become remnants when we give God permission to do the hard work. God’s glory shines through the clutter in our lives and is still there when we are stripped down to nothing. In fact, when we make room for God, we clear the way for His light to shine brighter.” ~p. 63, from Mary’s book, The Advent Narrative: The Life You Didn’t Know You Were Already Living.

Join me in preparing Him room this season:

Let’s be OPEN to hearing God’s whispers.

Let’s ALLOW God to speak by practicing stillness and quiet.

Let’s BE PREPARED to glorify Him in the presence of others, like the shepherds.

Let’s HURRY ourselves to Bethlehem and WAKE THE SLEEPERS as we go.

~May God bless you with His amazing, mind-blowing peace this given night. Love in Christ, Julie

P.S. The Advent Narrative is available on Amazon. I highly recommend it.

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