I was running pre-Christmas errands this week. As I went into one of the stores I needed to visit, I just happened to bump into one of my very dearest friends. What a delightful surprise in the middle of a random day to see one of your best people when you’re not expecting it. I wasn’t in a bad mood, but my spirits were immediately lifted, and I was happier all day because of that one chance encounter.
That evening, in the quiet and calm after the kids had gone to bed and all the tasks for the day were finished, I thought again about how much joy it brought me to see not just a friend but a friend I love dearly. In fact, that day in the store we didn’t even say “goodbye.” We said, “I love you” as we parted ways.
I love bumping into friends, but what made that five-minute exchange different? She immediately showed me where she had just gotten a small cut on her finger and asked if a particular item she was buying was something she needed. I talked about my mission to find pants that fit my children. This was hardly a conversation to write home about. Yet, it made my whole day better.
Sometimes when you bump into someone you must catch up on all that’s going on with them. How their jobs, health, and people are. That’s fine, though admittedly, it’s also why we sometimes duck for cover to not be seen. In this case, the joy came simply from the gift of being unexpectedly in the presence of someone that I genuinely love. I see and talk to her regularly. It was the mundaneness about the store, the activities, the conversation. The only thing that wasn’t mundane is that I delight in her presence. No matter how often I see or talk to her, I’m just as excited to see her again.
And there it was. That’s how we should feel about Jesus. As I sat there gazing at my Christmas tree and reflecting on that moment from earlier in the day, my thoughts shifted to not just to celebrating the birth of Christ but how thrilled my soul is to have everyday encounters with Him. While we spend much time looking forward to Christmas Day and unique events along the way, let us not miss the everyday moments to be excited by Him.
He is with us today. Right now. We should wait expectantly, not passively. He doesn’t just show up for us at Christmas. He’s here in the waiting.
In Matthew 25, Jesus talks about how the righteous will have fed Him and taken Him in and not even realized it. He says in verses 38-49 (NKJV), “’When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”
I also think about the scripture in Hebrews (13:2) that talks says we may entertain angels unwittingly. Divine encounters aren’t rare. Realizing them is. I’ve deliberately taken a more expectant posture this Christmas season. I’m trying to slow down and watch; to be more aware of Jesus and gifts from Him in the most unassuming ways.
I’m not talking about big miracles, but the smallest of moments like a savior’s birth in a dirty stable. I’m talking about the gift of bumping into a friend that lifts your spirit at just the right moment. An answer to prayer that is so specific to the details that it couldn’t be anything else. In those times when noticing a Nerf bullet in your Christmas tree branches makes you feel overwhelmed with love and gratitude rather than anger and frustration. Or in the smile of a stranger or kind words or actions from the people in our circle.
I want to be so alert that when I encounter Jesus in those Nerf bullet type of moments that I’m as excited to bump into Him as I am a close friend. Those subtle nods from Him are there in abundance if we look and pay attention. I’ve just finished reading the Gospels again and am freshly reminded that several people that should have, didn’t recognize Jesus when they saw Him after the resurrection. It makes me wonder how often I’ve encountered and not recognized Him. How many times have I not noticed and therefore appreciated His presence in the middle of my Tuesday afternoon?
No Christmas gift could be better than the awareness of the presence of Jesus in the mundane moments of my life. Sometimes the chance meeting of a friend IS the divine encounter. The realization of the love we’re surrounded by IS the divine encounter. The smile in the checkout line IS the divine counter. The check that came just in time, the new job posting, your child’s good day, the friend willing to help on the day you needed it most – those are the divine encounters.
My prayer for each of us as we continue through this holiday season is that our eyes and hearts may be opened to His presence in the small, perhaps unexpected, details of our lives. I pray that we’re excited and our spirits buoyed, that we light up in the sheer delight of His presence. May we all bump into Jesus today.
Photo credit: Andreas Kretschmer/Unsplash
