The Eve

It's Christmas Eve...and the eve of so much else, it seems to me.

* It's Christmas Eve, which means today is my niece's birthday. Happy birthday, Cassie! I celebrate your life - and you remain (hands down) the best Christmas gift I've ever received. I am so proud of you for pursuing your work passions and for being such a great mom, too! It's fun to see you in action through pictures! (For anyone utterly confused by that...they live far away, so pictures are the only way I can see her in action!) Here's a little vintage Bekah and Cassie for you: 

* It's Christmas Eve, which means there may be a few of you out there who are dreading tomorrow. You have, perhaps, been slogging through this season, hurting at every turn over a loss or a change you didn't ask to experience. My prayer is that this Christmas Eve might be the eve of healing in your heart. Certainly you may not wake up tomorrow and *poof* everything is better, but perhaps this is the eve of the first inkling of healing that will take place in God's timing. I may not know your hurt, but I do know hurt, and I have found those seasons of healing to be some of the most beautiful times I've ever experienced. May your eve arrive and bring you a breath of hope.

* It's Christmas Eve, which means some of you are flat out exhausted. You're facing staying up through all hours of the night to put the finishing touches on Christmas Day. You've been running (possibly literally through airports) to make it to this place or that to spend the day with people who are counting on you. My prayer is that this Christmas Eve might be the eve of giving yourself the gift of rest - of choosing to tuck away some sacred moments to simply be. 

* It's Christmas Eve, which means we're just days away from a new year. It looms, with all its uncertainty and possibilities. Maybe for some of you, those words are frightening and for others they're welcomed. My prayer is that this Christmas Eve might be the eve of beauty in the uncertainty and possibilities alike. I hope this new year and decade allows you to look back and see that God did some amazing things in and through you - all for His glory!

* It's Christmas Eve, which means that we're in the season of reflecting and wrapping up this year. Maybe this is a year you're eager to put behind you so you can embrace those possibilities I just talked about. Maybe this has been such a full year - in all the best ways - that you can't even wrap your mind around all that's happened. My prayer is that this Christmas Eve might be the eve of gratitude as you reflect. In the good and the hard, may you see that God has sustained, held, and provided at every turn. 

* It's Christmas Eve, which means we celebrate the joy of Christ's birth. My prayer is that this Christmas Eve might be the eve of a new understanding of just how much He loves you.

Much love to all of you this Christmas Eve!