Don't Miss It

I am browning butter with one hand while writing a list of things I need to accomplish with the other. In four hours, twelve guests will arrive for a Christmas party. I still need to finish dessert, dice potatoes, do the dishes, set the table, walk the dog, and take a shower.

A knock on the door. I ignore it. Not on the schedule.

“Hey – you in there?”

I recognize my neighbor’s voice. No, no, no. Not now. I don’t have a second to spare.

Before I can stop her, she’s in my kitchen. Talking, talking, talking. I have no time for all this talking. Finally, I concede defeat and sit with her at my table that still needs to be set. She tells me her husband of thirty-two years is leaving her. I am the first person in whom she has confided.

Intimacy between friends. I almost missed it.

I am running into the grocery store with my youngest daughter. “This is an in-and-out trip,” I tell her. “We only need one thing. Let’s hurry.” Hand in hand, I rush her to the spice aisle. I find nutmeg quickly and turn to leave.

“Hi.” I hear her say to someone. I look behind us and see an elderly woman waiting to peruse the spices.

“You sure look pretty today,” the woman says to my daughter.

“Want to see how my dress twirls?” Olivia offers.

“I sure do,” responds the kind woman.

I am uncertain how to end this unexpected delay. “C’mon honey, we have to go, and I’m sure this nice lady is busy.”

“Not at all,” the woman answers. “I haven’t seen my grandchildren in such a long time. This is the highlight of my day.”

Her lonely eyes tell me this is the truth. I let go of Livvy’s hand and allow her to twirl while singing two songs from her upcoming preschool Christmas concert.

 Connection with a stranger. I almost missed it.

I am locked in my bedroom wrapping approximately 800 presents from Santa. I hear footsteps overhead and wonder which of my supposedly sleeping daughters is coming downstairs.

“Mom? I have to show you something,” comes the little voice outside my door.

“It’s late, baby. Go back to bed.”

“Mom! I have to show you. It’s a surprise.”

“Sara – it’s very late. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“It will be too late in the morning. Pleeeeease!”

Realizing my relentless daughter will not retreat, I come to the door. “What do you want to show me?”

She takes me upstairs to her window overlooking the front yard. “Look how the Christmas lights poke through the snow on the bushes. That will make it easy for Santa to find our house, right?”

Innocent wonder of a child. I almost missed it.

In all my doing, I almost missed the significance of the season.

How tempting it is to let Christmas pass in a flurry. How easy to miss the sacred moments. When we’re loud and frantic, we cannot hear God’s whisper. Stay here. Take it in. Linger.

 The stable. The manger. The baby.

This Christmas, let’s marvel at the mystery of something beyond our understanding. Let’s sit in awe of the miracle that happened thousands of years ago and the ones that are still happening today.