Don't Miss Out! An Advent Message

This morning as I was getting dressed to go somewhere, my adult son was calling to me from the front room saying, "Mom, come look at the deer!"  I was busy brushing my teeth or washing my face or some other "important" activity, and I didn't hear him.  Finally, he came to the door of my bathroom and said, "Mom, you missed it! There were five deer running across our lawn and walking down the road in front of the house!"  So I grabbed my camera and my shoes and my sweater and ran out the door to see if I could see them, but they were long gone by that time. All that I could see were their hoof tracks in the road, heading back into the woods.  Thankfully, my son was able to get a few pictures...not of all the deer at once, but enough to get the idea:

The more I thought about it, the more it seemed to be a good message for advent..."Don't Miss Out!"
Don't get so busy being busy...you know...shopping, decorating, baking, stressing over details...don't get so busy doing all the stuff, and miss out on the real purpose of Christmas!  Don't start fretting over this list and that list, and this event or that event, this gift or that gift...and totally overlook the beauty of the season...

• the Christ child in the manger...God in the flesh come down to earth...
• the innocence and beauty of His mother Mary...the virgin girl who trusted God even when she didn't totally understand how this could happen...
• the obedience and kindness of Joseph...who believed the angelic messenger and trusted God
• the shepherds watching their flocks and seeing the angelic choir announcing His birth
• the songs the angels sang..."Glory to God in the Highest!"
• the star that led the Wise Men
• the gifts the Wise Men brought from afar
• the prophets of old foretelling His birth in Bethlehem
• and on and on and on...

Don't be like the Jewish religious leaders who doubted that this could be the Messiah, because He didn't come to earth like they thought a king should come...and they missed it...they missed the beauty of God's wonderful gift to them...they overlooked this little babe in the manger because they were expecting something else...or they were just too busy at the time to care...

So, if there is any message in these deer running across my lawn this morning...it would be..."don't miss out!"  Pay attention to the things that are really happening around you. Listen to the messages that God is giving you.  Don't miss the significance of Christmas and what it really means to you personally...Jesus came to earth seeking for you!

"From God's heaven to a manger,

from great riches to the poor,

Came the holy Son of God, a little Child;

From the azure hall of heaven

to a lowly manger stall,

Jesus came, and here He gave His life for all.

Chorus:

Redeeming love, a love that knows no limit;

Redeeming love, a love that never dies;

My soul shall sing throughout the endless ages

The adoration of this great love on high.

From a loving heavenly Father,

to a world that knew Him not,

Came a man of sorrows, 

Jesus Christ, the Lord;

In my wandering Jesus found me,

Touched my life with His great love,

And this Babe has grown to be my sovereign Lord.

Chorus:

Redeeming love, a love that knows no limit;

Redeeming love, a love that never dies;

My soul shall sing throughout the endless ages

The adoration of this great love on high."

Redeeming Love, written by Gloria Gaither/William Gaither

So...as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ anew, think about those deer running across my lawn... and "don't miss out!"