Take A Moment

The kids were in bed, the stockings were filled, all the gifts were wrapped, and all the food was prepped. She was as ready for Christmas as she was ever going to be. And a good thing too - Christmas was tomorrow.

She was about to join her husband in getting ready for bed. She turned off the lights and soon the only light left was the tree. And woah, it was beautiful… Her family had done a good job decorating.

She paused and looked at her tree, all the presents, and all the other decor; it sure was a lot. And tomorrow would be all kinds of chaos. All this for a day to celebrate my Saviour's arrival. She couldn't help but laugh.

Her Papa’s Bible sat in its spot on the mantel, and she picked it up. She curled up on the couch and opened the book of Luke. She wasn't sure if it was bad to have a favourite gospel or not, but hers was definitely Luke. She read over the story.

She had just reached the part where the shepherd took off for Bethlehem when her husband popped his head into the living room. “Darling? You coming to bed? I thought we'd finished everything.”

"We did, Love, I was just taking a moment.” She lifted up the Bible.

"Ah! May I join you?” She nodded and he sat next to her, wrapping his arm around her. “Where were you?" He nodded toward the page.

"The shepherds are racing off to Bethlehem.” She pointed to the verse she was at and her husband started to read out loud.

When he stopped she continued. Together they read through the story. Once they were done, she closed the Bible. “Thank you for letting me join you, that was a good reminder."

“Thank you for joining me." She let out a happy sigh. “We should read it with the kiddos tomorrow. They need the reminder too."

“Most definitely. I think that would be wise. Maybe we can read it before they start fighting over who gets to open presents first," he teased.

She giggled. “I'm not sure that will change anything. But we can surely try. Maybe we should pick a picture book version instead, which might hold their attention longer.” They lingered another minute, enjoying the moment of quiet and calm before tomorrow morning.

"Love?" She spoke softly.

“Hmm?” He looked at her.

“I'm glad we took this time tonight. It can be hard to remember what is important this time of year. Especially with the kids, wanting them to have all the Christmas fun.” He chuckled.

“And I think they have.” She thought of all the photos on her phone, waiting to be printed. She closed her eyes and laid her head against his chest.

“Alright.” He sighed and stood up with her in his arms. “If we don’t head to bed soon, the kids will be waking us up before we have any sleep.”

She nodded and giggled at being carried to bed by her husband. Even if they only got a couple of hours of sleep before the kids came running into their room begging to start Christmas, this moment was well worth it.