“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.” Psalm 143:8
Warming up the body before any type of exercise is so important for preventing injuries. Warming up for a ballet dancer gets the blood flowing so that the muscles can then stretch and jump and dance. I would always love to bundle up in my favorite warm-up pants, big comfy sweater, leg warmers, and booties to keep my feet warm when I was warming up before a ballet performance. Warming up properly is a dancer’s foundation to beautiful dancing.
I do a different kind of “warming up” these days. Or maybe, I see the importance of a different kind of warming up in life…
My front living room is my favorite place to “warm up” for the day. Right now, a Christmas tree stands in the window, and in the morning, when the sun streams in through the window, it makes the Christmas lights twinkle beautifully. My nativity scene sits on a red table…my three little boys carefully selected each little lamb, goat, and wiseman’s location…of course, they knew Mary and Joseph and Baby Jesus went in the center. A warm cup of coffee is my go-to morning treat, and my Bible, journal, and pen are my go-to resources to warm-up my soul for the day.
Sweet one, there is a key to warming up the soul….spending time with Jesus warms up the soul, the heart, the mind…for the day…for your life. Just like a dancer would hopefully not jump into her grande allegro without warming up…may we see that it’s just as detrimental to our emotional state and well-being if we jump into our day without warming up our soul with Christ’s love and presence.
The thing about warming up as a ballerina on long days in the studio or at the theater is this…we have to stay warmed up. There is this constant cycle going on all day…put on warm-ups, warm-up, rehearse or perform, rest a bit, put warm-ups back on, keep moving the body so it doesn’t get too cold, warm-up some more….rehearse or perform again. I remember one time my director nearly scolded me for walking around backstage without my full gear of warm up attire on…he was so afraid I was going to get too cold and pull a muscle on stage…he was watching out for me. He was making sure I was staying warm.
In life, God doesn’t say that our time with Him has to look a certain way…it doesn’t have to be a certain time of day. But when we start our day with Him…He warms our soul….He gears us up for the day. And then He keeps warming our soul as we walk with Him throughout our day. As we look to Him for help, ask Him for wisdom…invite Him into the details of our day…He swoops in, wraps us in His love and comfort….and keeps us warm.
Christmas is about discovering the warmth of Christ for our own hearts.
Christmas is about experiencing His light and comfort wrapped around us in a new way.
Will you let Christ warm up your heart with His Word, His company, and His Spirit this Christmas season?
Prayer: “Lord, let me feel the warmth of Your presence this Christmas season.”
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