Intruder Alert!

Bright morning sunlight streamed through our living room window. I ran the vacuum over the carpet, preoccupied with today's to-do list.

Do the drapes need cleaning? I wondered. I glanced toward them and froze.
                                                      

     

A dark haired man crouched in the bushes directly beneath the first-floor picture window. I left the vacuum running and flattened myself against the closest wall.

Earlier that morning our local police department had reported an upswing in the number of daytime break-ins in our area.

Calm down Jeanie, I told myself, It's probably the electric company guy coming to read the meter.

I crept back to the window for another look.
Definitely not the electric guy.
I hid in the drapes and peeked again.

The man was still there, motionless. Worse, I noticed another person in the same crouched position, wearing a white head covering. They both faced the street.

                     I can't believe burglars are here.
                           In the suburbs.
                                In my bushes.
I slithered from the safety of the drapes, and slunk along the wall toward the phone to call 911.
The people outside hadn't moved. They held utterly still, facing away from me.
I looked closer. There was something familiar about the pair.
                A dark haired man. A woman with a white veil.
Sheepishly I turned off the vacuum and set the phone down.

I'd almost called in an intruder alert on the plastic figures from our nativity scene.

The nearly life-sized Joseph and Mary were bowing, focused on plastic baby Jesus.

As my heart slowed its frenzied conga beat, a thought struck me:

Will I make Jesus my focal point this Christmas, or put him on "intruder alert" status?

Will this holiday season be so filled with my to-do lists that I neglect faith, family, and friends?

"Sorry, I don't have time to spend with you; I'm too busy doing things for you."
What's on our to-do lists this season? Shopping, baking, parties? I love it all!

But are we so caught up in Christmas busyness that we neglect the reason for it all?            

The reason for Christmas is this:

"For the Son of Man (Jesus) came to seek and to save the lost." Luke 19:10.

Who's lost? All of us without Jesus.

Instead of putting him on intruder alert, we can invite him in.

It's simple.

"Jesus, please forgive my sins, and be my Savior."

If we do that, we'll get the most amazing gift ever-a new life!
 

And as for our to-do lists? Let's put those on "intruder alert" status.

Photos courtesy of chanpipat at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

and imagerymajestic at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.