One thing.

I think it's always good to slow down and remember what's really important.

• It's not important how many gifts are under the tree for each person in the family or that they are 'even.'
• It's not important that there's one burned out blue lightbulb on the roof (even though it tends to drive me crazy).
• It's not important how the cookies look. It's not. (see previous post)
• It's not even important whether we go to the 4:00 or 6:00 candlelight service.

These things are SO not important. I started writing this with the idea of copying another blogger and listing the 20 things I'm most looking forward to this Christmas. I still may do that someday. But when I started thinking about it, I realized I've fallen back into my old habit of majoring on the minor things. The outward stuff instead of what's in my heart.

Remember Martha? She and I are kindred spirits. She was working so hard to make things nice for everybody but getting a little bugged that her sister didn't seem to care enough about all of the things that were important to her.

I love Jesus' words to her in Luke 10. They are also spoken to me. “My sweet Becky, you're fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over all these details. There is only one thing worth being concerned about."

That 'one thing' is Christ Jesus.

What is important is to ask 'Who am I trying to please?'
Is it someone else's real or imagined expectations?
Is it my own self?
Or is it Him?

This year I've been pained to discover that I am a Pharisee (I plan to write more of my thoughts on that in the new year) and that I often feel pretty self-satisfied. That conclusion is reached without an honest look inside. Why do I like to try to fix everything/everyone else except my own heart? Because I don't want to face what I'll find there. I might have to admit to some really ugly motives or do the work of a major attitude adjustment.

So... the one thing is really something that I can give to Him: Me. My attention. My rights to this or that. My willingness to love when it's hard. My expectations. My time. For Him.