Journeying to Grace

So, have you received it yet? The first Christmas card of the year? Mine came on Monday. (I’m in awe that my friend is so prepared and ‘on top of it’!) If you are like me when you open a Christmas card, your attention goes first to any note that’s been handwritten. If there is a typed letter within the card, you enjoy reading about the year’s details. Of course, photos included in the cards are wonderful to receive. A homemade card is an extra special gift of love, time, and creativity. It’s very special to connect with family and friends during this season of anticipation. But as we busy ourselves with Christmas preparations and hopes for the New Year, we may be overlooking something extra special in these cards.

As you receive holiday cards in the coming weeks, I invite you to really read the message on the card as well as the sender’s personal notes. We may be tempted to glance over those printed words, but so often they are powerful in their hope, faith, and love. In recent years, I began reading those not just as messages, but as prayers. Prayers for the world, prayers for my family, prayers for me. Perhaps this Advent as you prepare your heart and spirit to welcome Christ, spend some time in prayer with the cards you receive. Do the words in the preprinted message draw you to Emmanuel, God with us? Does the image on the front of the card stir the light of Christ in you? Why do you think this card moved the sender to select it to send his or her heartfelt greetings to you? The message in this first card I received is “May this joyous season and coming year be filled with the blessings of His peace.” A wonderful prayer!

As I receive these welcome greetings from friends and family, I’ll read each one with a prayerful and grateful heart. All the cards will go into ‘the pile,’ and I’ll read through them again in a month or so when I’m cleaning up after the holiday. And as I read them again, I’ll be reminded of the prayers that have been offered. Prayers not just for the Christmas season, but for the entire year. Prayers that remind us that Christ in our lives is joy; that the wonder of a life in Christ is ours all year; that the Prince of Peace is indeed our salvation. As you begin your Advent journey, I hope you are blessed by the prayers you receive from friends and family this season. May these special graces accompany you all year.