Holiday Triggers, Heavenly Vision
I slid my finger across the pad on my laptop and entered my password. Within a couple of seconds, that day’s screensaver popped up. I’m not sure if the photo was the product of AI or from a camera positioned on a drone, but there was the view – the tops of multiple skyscrapers and a bustling grid of sidewalks and roads far below, miniscule in scale to the towering buildings.
A couple of personal issues caused my anxiety to churn a bit, as I’m claustrophobic and not fond of heights. Here was this image spread across my screen supposedly taken from thousands of feet up in the air. The closeness of the buildings to each other appeared to uncomfortably confine the passersby on street level. Neither of these factors set well with me. I quickly navigated to my intended online destination, relieved to escape the photo of that chaotic panorama.
Closed-in spaces and high altitudes are my triggers. And around the holidays, I confess to a few seasonal triggers as well. A pile of gifts needing to be wrapped, Christmas cards needing to be addressed and dropped in the mail, a mental list of friends with whom I’d love to connect, recipe cards and a grocery list staring up at me from the kitchen counter, and a calendar that “tsk,tsk”s me with only so many days left to pull it all together.
That’s a lot of self-imposed “need to get done” things, but do you know what I really need? A new screensaver. I need a view in my heart of a dark night in Bethlehem, the brilliant appearance of an angel, a crew of bewildered but excited shepherds, an exhausted new mom tenderly cradling her Newborn, and worship from a stable strewn with hay all the way up to the heavens filled with angels.
When the season gets crazy and our perspective gets wonky, let’s ask the Lord to help us shift our vision from all things earthly to all things heavenly – “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable.” (Philippians 4:8) Then we’ll notice a drop in our blood pressure and a slowing of our heart rate. “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)
As the last few days leading up to Christmas come and go, may we “fix our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2a) – our “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6b) May we experience His presence above all other experiences. May we rest in His love as an act of adoration. And may we set our hearts on the newborn King in worship and gratitude.
