Today, Advent continues its steady advance, unfazed by any unforeseen obstacles that would slow its approach or block its path. Advent is unstoppable. God’s gift to mankind will be delivered (oh good pun, right?) in a timely manner and nothing will delay or deter the arrival of Immanuel – God with us. 

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,” (Isaiah 9:6)

So the Messiah arrives on time. But will I be ready? Ready to celebrate His arrival properly that is? You see, I’ve had a few setbacks. First, due to a bad cold, I haven’t left the house in five days. Those were five days I had fully filled (in my head and on my “to do” lists) with all the things I was going to accomplish during that time to get ready for the celebration of Christmas. (this is when not being a procrastinator would have served me well) So the purchasing of gifts and the procurement of festive foods (or any food) has not been done as I write this sad but true confession.

The second unexpected setback was the need for a plumber’s services. No one ever plans on a plumber – if you need a plumber, it’s because there’s a problem you didn’t plan for or leave room for in your schedule. ”Have a plumber over to the house for a day” was NOT on my original to do list. It got added out of necessity. (of course “get sick” wasn’t an item on my list of things to do either) It’s no wonder these words from Proverbs have been uppermost in my mind these days –

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” (Proverbs 19:21)

“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)

I had made oh, so many plans, but have actually carried out none of them to date. When my grown children arrive to celebrate Christmas will they find no presents under the tree and the refrigerator empty? Oh, that’s right, there is no tree, I don’t have one. So, the casual observer might conclude that the Grinch has already visited my house and successfully grabbed Christmas while I was otherwise occupied with plumbing problems and personal illness. But this would not be true, because there isn’t anything for the Grinch to grab. I can’t blame the Grinch for my lack of preparedness. The Grinch hasn’t stolen anything from me. There is nothing here for him to steal at present.

Now the reason I always liked the story of the Grinch as a child was because it had a satisfying ending involving a change of heart on the Grinch’s part brought on by the revelation of a very profound truth. The Grinch thought he had stopped Christmas from coming by stealing all the trappings of Christmas, the trees, the presents, the decorations, the food, everything from every Who’s house. He left nothing behind. But on Christmas morning the Grinch heard all the Who’s singing and celebrating. It was then the Grinch had this epiphany -

“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! ’Maybe Christmas,’ he thought, ‘doesn’t come from a store.’ ’Maybe Christmas . . . perhaps . . . means a little bit more!’ “ 

And with that revelation of truth, everything changed for the Grinch. According to the story, his heart grew three sizes and he returned all the stolen trappings of Christmas to each and every Who. The Grinch had stolen the Who’s stuff, but he hadn’t succeeded in stealing Christmas because the gift of Christ, that we celebrate at Christmas, can’t be taken from those who receive God’s gift of His Son.

Advent is about clearing the clutter in order to make room for the Christ Child. The Grinch certainly helped the Whos to make room that day. When everything was stripped away, the Whos still had a reason to sing, a reason to rejoice. The Christ Child still came, God’s gift is still given. And the Whos did sing and celebrate, even though all their food, presents, decorations etc. had been stolen by the Grinch. Sometimes it’s easier to celebrate when the external customs of the season are removed, so we are no longer burying the original event, Christ’s birth, which is “the reason for the season”, as they say, beneath all the man invented, added on customs and traditions now covering up the miraculous event itself, the birth of Immanuel, God with us. 

We don’t want to forget whose birthday party it is that we are attending as invited guests. Sadly though, for many, it does seem to be about the party rather than the Person. Maybe the Grinch will grab Christmas again and do us all the favor of clearing away our clutter, helping us to make room for the Christ Child, something that we can’t seem to get done on our own. So thank you, Mr. Grinch, for stealing what doesn’t matter, so that I can see more clearly that which does matter.

Christmas will come, whether or not I ever get to the store! Let my heart be preparing room for the coming King!  

“She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:7)

Lord Jesus, this Christmas may You be welcomed in everywhere. May You find many hearts that have made room for You to enter in, including my own.

sincerely,  Grace Day