This Boxing Day morning
as I go into our living room
to spend time in prayer
I pause for a few moments
before our wee crib.
I’m struck by how basic
a stable would have been,
providing the bare necessity of shelter
and absolutely nothing more.
Surely the holy family deserved
so much more than this?

And I feel guilty.
I had such plans
for all of the spiritual preparation
I was going to do
for Christmas
but I got so little of it done.
I feel that, spiritually,
my preparation for the Baby Jesus
has been very basic,
as basic, really, as that stable was.

Unexpectedly
I find myself thinking
about how I feel
when I go to visit someone
in their home.

I’m not really interested
in whether the house
is like something I would see
on the “Grand Designs” TV programme
or just a tiny bedsit.
I’m not really interested
in whether the house
is beautifully decorated
and furnished
and I’m not really interested
in whether the house is spick and span
or untidy.
Only one thing interests me –
the welcome that I receive.

And as I stand before our wee crib,
conscious of my many faults
and shortcomings
I feel a strong sense
of being so unprepared
to welcome the Baby Jesus
and yet so delighted
that He has come.
And I sense Jesus whisper to me,
“Claire,
I’m not really interested
in the fact that you weren’t prepared –
I’m just delighted
at the welcome I received from you
today.”

© Claire Murray, 26th December 2015