I do not want to write this article.
I mean … usually I do … but not today.
Today is much too busy, with more “to-dos” than I can count. I’ll probably even add more things to the list as I’m doing them throughout the day so I can bask in the twisted mental high of running my pen through those burdensome beasts. (I know I’m not the only one who does this!)
Trouble is, I guarantee you that no matter how many lines my pen runs through, I will go to bed feeling like a failure. I guess my glass is half empty, because I always gravitate towards what didn’t get done. Maybe for you too? Does it seem like enough is never enough? Life can feel a little bit like the spinning plates act from a circus. It’s super impressive – and also anxiety producing … and possibly messy in the end.
Three words have assaulted this busy backdrop for me in this season. “Prepare Him Room.” Those three words have been echoing through the halls of my mind, repeating themselves over and over. (It’s a wonder anything can echo in my mind with how full it is!)
What would that look like to “Prepare Him Room.”
Yesterday, I was preparing our Silo Airbnb for our first Christmas guest. I lugged the 9-foot frosted Christmas tree from my basement, across the driveway, and up the stairs to the loft. As my fingers ached from the sharp plastic handle and I huffed my way up the stairs, I thought to myself, “Is this really worth it? Do our guests really need a Christmas tree? Christmas will be over in a month.”
After I straightened out each branch, plugged in the lights, and carefully wrapped the tree skirt around the base of the tree, the answer was clear: YES this is worth it! Why? Because Christmas will happen without us even noticing unless we stop to notice it.
I hear the echo again; “Prepare Him Room.” What would that actually mean? If I think about “room” … I don’t have much of that. There is very little extra space in my life. My closets are maxed, my schedule is tight, my patience is short … and I’m supposed to find some room in here? And that’s where I go wrong. It’s not about “Finding Him Room.” The call is to “Prepare Him Room.” What are we at risk of losing if we don’t?
My life sounds a little bit like the innkeeper who didn’t have room for the birth of the Savior of the world. (In his defense, he was busy! The inn was full, and he didn’t have time! I get it.) But I wonder what he would have changed if he knew who he was turning away. If he only knew that he was putting the Son of God with his cows. Don’t let the manger scenes lie to you. Cows are great, but they stink!
I don’t fault the innkeeper, because I understand being over-capacity. Over-capacity is my happy place … until it’s not. What would the innkeeper teach us after the fact? “Prepare Him Room” – it echoes in my mind again.
Perhaps you recognize those words from a famous carol. The words preceding that phrase are “Let every heart …” These words exclude no one. How many hearts? Every heart. Do what? “Prepare Him Room.” Why? Because if we don’t, we will miss it! We will miss Him.
The song begins saying “Joy the World! The Lord Has Come!” It’s always ironic to me hearing this song in a shopping mall being played directly following Rudolph. People hum along with “Let every heart, prepare him room,” but do we do it? Do we actually understand what we’re hearing?
What if we stopped to realize the inconceivability of “God with us”? God did not stay distant. He stepped down from his throne in heaven, was born as a helpless baby among manure, in order to give us an opportunity to have eternal life with Him and save us from hell. This should blow my mind.
And I can’t find time to “Prepare Him Room.” Uffda.
So, thanks to the article I didn’t want to write, I am reminded to “Prepare Him Room” today. I don’t want to miss the Savior of the World. I want to have time for him. Have you made time for him? He stepped into our story on that first Christmas to give us the most overwhelming gift we could ever receive. We just have to open it. Ephesians 2:8-9: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and it’s not of yourselves, it is a gift of God not by works so that no one can boast.”
Let’s open that gift and prepare Him room this year!
Merry Christmas!
Meet your farmer – Liz Gerdes. She and her husband run a farm-to-table Raw Milk dairy and farm Airbnb in Caledonia. If you’re looking for raw milk fresh from the farm, visit gerdesfreshfarm.com or follow her on Facebook @gerdesfreshfarm or Instagram @gerdesliz for more info.
Fresh off the Farm Eggnog
6 large egg yolks
1/3-1/2 cup granulated sugar (or real maple syrup!)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ground cinnamon, for topping
Whipping cream & cinnamon sticks, if desired, for topping
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar (or maple syrup) together in a medium bowl until light and creamy.
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the cream, milk, nutmeg and salt. Stir often until mixture reaches a simmer.
Add a big spoonful of the hot milk to the egg mixture, whisking vigorously. Repeat, adding a big spoonful at a time, to temper the eggs.
Once most of the hot milk has been added to the eggs, pour the mixture back into the saucepan on the stove.
Whisk constantly for a minute or so, until the mixture is just slightly thickened (or until it reaches about 160º F on a thermometer). It will thicken more as it cools
If you don’t like nutmeg flecks in your drink, pour the eggnog through a fine mesh strainer into a pitcher or other container and cover with plastic wrap. (We skipped this and just drank it right away – hot – and it was such a treat!)
Refrigerate until chilled. (we didn’t even try cooling it because my family slurped every last drop up!) But I’ve been told it will thicken as it cools. If you want a thinner, completely smooth consistency, you can add the entire mixture to a blender with 1 or 2 tablespoons of milk and blend until smooth.
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