“All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth, my two front teeth…..”

Remember that old song?  There’s something about nostalgia that can center a soul.  Familiar sights, songs, scents, traditions, going home; all can instantly bring back that feeling of wholeness, contentment, and normalcy.  It’s so comforting.  Even if for just a moment, one can close their eyes and be filled with a feeling of peace and serenity.

After 2020 I believe we are all craving normal.

I walk daily in our development.  This year I have seen Christmas trees decorated and lit up in windows as early as November 1^st. if not before! Some will always be early birds but this is more than usual.  I mean a lot!!! I think it’s a sign of people craving a sense of normal and a sense of grounding.

Perhaps we all want to sing, “All I want for Christmas is normal…..”

However, my prayer is this will not be a normal Christmas.

Normal Christmas equated high expectations, stress, obligation and temptation to over spend that left us with a feeling of emptiness when the celebration was over.  Normal Christmas became a nuisance that lost its meaning. 

No, I wish you a very different Christmas.  I wish you a Christmas stripped of the normal.

I wish you a quiet, meaningful Christmas that draws you to the feet of your Savior and Lord, who was delivered to us on that quiet night so long ago.

May your Christmas be so intimate and quiet that you hear God’s voice calling to you for salvation.

May His gentle whisper be heard, inviting you to walk ever so closely with Him as not only Savior but Lord.

I pray you hear the voice of your Heavenly Father because this Christmas isn’t so normal and loud and full.

May you close your eyes and be filled will peace and serenity, just for a moment, as you acknowledge His presence.  And may that moment linger into the day and the next day and the next day.

May this un-normal Christmas allow you to truly embrace the meaning of Christmas:  “Emmanuel, which means God is with us.”  Matthew 1:23 

WITH: accompanied by or accompanying: I will go with you.

ACCOMPANY: go somewhere with, as a companion or escort

Perhaps God the Father is saying, “All I want for Christmas is for you to know that I am here, accompanying you in life.  I am present.”

“I will never leave you or forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5-6

During this unusual, un-normal Christmas, I pray you will crave an awareness of your Heavenly Father more than you are craving normal.

And if you are craving normal more than your creator, ask Him to make your spirit more hungry for Him.

Ask God to help you be more aware of His presence….the Christmas gift given so long ago, “Emmanuel, which means God is with us.”  Matthew 1:23

And may the awareness of God’s presence bring the wholeness, contentment, and normalcy that you are so deeply craving.

Perhaps 2020 has been a gift in disguise, stripping away the ‘normal’. 

I wish you a very Merry Un-normal Christmas!

Lynn Jackson

Thrive Leadership Foundation