“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”
- Luke 2:10 NIV
I saw a squirrel crossing the road today.
If you can call it “crossing.”
It started confidently enough—little tail up, little paws chugging along—until the unmistakable rumble of an 18-wheeler rolled around the curve. And suddenly that squirrel turned into a furry combination of panic, prayer, and pure instinct.
He froze.
He darted.
He juked left, cut right, and somehow slipped between the truck’s tires and made it to the other side.
I exhaled a breath I didn’t know I was holding...
Somehow the squirrel lived.
And for a moment, I wondered if God looks at us that same way.
Because honestly?
A whole lot of us look exactly like that squirrel right now.
Especially at Christmas.
Oh, we’re smiling.
We’re wrapping.
We’re baking.
We’re checking off lists like responsible adults.
But inside?
Many folks are darting emotionally from one thing to another…
Trying to dodge the pressure…
avoid the expectations…
navigate the grief…
sidestep the financial strain…
And outrun the loneliness, sadness and faded memories that creep in under twinkling lights.
It’s a season meant for joy, yet so many feel heavy.
Not necessarily hopeless—just in a funk.
A low-grade, quiet, soul-tired ache we don’t admit out loud and don’t fully understand.
And here’s the thing:
We weren’t made to live like that squirrel dodging traffic.
Christmas is the reminder that Someone stepped into our chaos—
not to give us better instincts, but to give us Himself
He came for people in a funk.
People overwhelmed.
People tired of darting through life trying not to get run over.
He came for the scattered, the hurried, the anxious, the uncertain.
He came for us.
And the invitation of Christmas is as real now as it was that night in Bethlehem:
Not someday.
Not when things slow down.
Not once the to-do list is finished.
Now.
So if we feel like that squirrel today - nervous, anxious, dodging, exhausted - let’s pause long enough to remember this:
Christmas is not about our speed or strength or our smile-like mask...
Christmas is about a Child born in a manger. A Child born to be Savior of the World. The Child who would become a man, but not any ordinary man. A man that lived a holy, sinless life. A man that is Son of God and Son of man. A man who lived and died and lived again so that we might have life, might be forgiven, might one day be with Him in heaven. A Child like no other child who grew to be a man like no other man. Jesus, the One who saves His people from their sin. Emmanuel, God with us.
Let Him steady us.
Let Him shepherd us.
Let Him breathe peace into our hurried heart.
Because no matter how busy the road or how big the wheels…
Jesus is still the answer—
the peace,
the calm,
the joy,
the Savior who came for you and me.
Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem
