My Christmas Prayer
My Christmas Prayer
This Christmas, Lord, let me open my heart like never before. Help me hold tight to the special moments…before they slip away into memories.
Help me give grace to the people who can’t give what I need. Help me appreciate them for who they are, and help me to see all the goodness they bring to me and our relationship already. Let me not dwell on what’s missing or changed; let me just delight in what we share today.
Help me not to be distracted by my phone, work, the news, my to-do list. Let me not be exhausted and consumed by the little things, the worries, the anxiety. Let me be present. Let me soak up the joy of family, cocoa, cookies, and lights. Lord, I don’t want to miss the magic.
Let me feel like a kid this Christmas. Let me ooh and aah and laugh and sing. Let me search for Santa’s sleigh in the sky. Let my eyes linger on the twinkling stars. Let me rush out of bed while it’s still dark on Christmas morning.
Lord, let me shower people with kindness. I want to throw it around lavishly, to everyone, like I’ve been stashing more kindness inside than I could ever possibly need.
Let me also remember the healing power of forgiveness. Let me forgive hurtful words, and thoughtlessness, and even big mistakes. Help me to forgive myself, too. Help me to remember that we’re all human, and we’re all flawed. Let me focus on the heart within the human. Let me see the good intentions.
Please, help me let go of my judgments and my immovable perspectives. Help me remember that we are all in this together. Life is so much better lived with friends.
This Christmas, I vow to cherish connections. I want to nurture relationships. I want to listen attentively, ask questions, offer support. I believe that everyone deserves to feel, at one point or another, like they’re the most wonderful and most treasured person in the room. Let me be someone who makes others feel seen, heard, and appreciated.
Lord, I want to rejoice for other people. There is an unmatched beauty in feeling truly happy for others’ blessings. Lord, let me be the one who cheers loudest for friends, for family, for strangers, for other women.
Lord, help me to LOVE abundantly, and unconditionally, and with a passion so intense that the goodness of my love is unstoppable.
Let me be the kind of Christian who draws people to Christ by demonstrating His love and light. Let me walk with Jesus and in His example. Let me sit and be still with Him.
Help me to give generously.
Let me build a longer table.
Help me marvel over the magic.
This world is suffering a shortage of hope, but every warm and tender heart is a beacon for the downtrodden.
This Christmas and beyond, let my heart be one of those.
