The Holy Before the Chaos

These minutes before Christmas Eve worship services are quickly becoming some of the holiest Christmas moments for me.

In the next few hours, hundreds of people will fill these two rooms to worship on Christmas Eve. Some are coming because they are excited; the Spirit of Christmas fills them with so much joy. Some are coming because they love the tradition of walking through these doors year after year. Some are coming because they yearn for the peace that comes from the music of the season. Some are coming because the story of the Christ Child's birth fills with with awe and reverence.

Some people walk through our doors a little hesitantly. They aren't quite so sure they believe the story, but for some reason, they are still pulled here. Some are coming with overwhelming sadness. This is their first Christmas without "their person," and they are honestly a little afraid to sit in that same pew without them this year. Some are reluctant; they might be coming only because their grandmother or mother expects it. And some will be counting down the seconds until they can get back to other festivities.

And many people are coming with lots of these reasons all mixed together.

Regardless of the reason, they will come. They will fill these rooms, they will stand and sing, they will raise their candles in unison. No matter what brings them through these doors, they are welcome. They are loved. They are family, whether we see them Sunday after Sunday, Christmas after Christmas, or for the first time today.

These pictures of these rooms, of these worship spaces, of the quiet before the Christmas chaos... it is incredibly holy. I can sense the anticipation. Holy Spirit is overflowing in the silence and the dark. It's Christmas. Welcome. Come and be loved.