Christmas was just weeks away –

Dinner reservations at 5.

Gifts still to wrap.

Cookies to bake for the church sale.

And my “to-do” list? It seemed to sprout new branches every time I looked at it.

So, when my Jackson Area Pickleball Club (JAPA) headed to the Friendly Home for our annual Christmas service project, I wasn’t exactly in the most festive frame of mind. I wanted to do the good deed…and then hurry home to get on with my day. Maybe you understand that feeling – making lists, crossing things off, and immediately creating longer lists.

I was overwhelmed, but that morning, God had something else He wanted me to do. Something He wanted me to be.

If you’re not familiar, the Friendly Home’s story is a treasure in itself. Born out of President Lincoln’s compassion after the Civil War, it was established as a place of refuge for widows and orphans – those who carried visible and invisible wounds. Over time, it grew into a home where women from every season of life could find support and community. Today, it still stands as a haven of care…and my pickleball family has taken it upon ourselves to help decorate for Christmas each year. It’s become one of my favorite traditions.

Our visit is usually a joyful flurry:

• Decorating trees and hallways
• Singing carols
• Playing bingo
• Passing out gifts
• Helping with small repair projects

We were bustling around like Santa’s elves when a resident approached me wearing a necklace of bright, flashing Christmas lights. She asked how she looked before visiting her son. I told her she’d “light up the room.” Even as I smiled, I wondered, was I being genuine or just polite while hurrying through all my tasks?

As we continued working, a young girl appeared, eager, bright-eyed, and ready to help. She passed out jingle bells for caroling, celebrated every “BINGO!”, and pitched in with clean-up as if it were the most important job of the day.

And then, God gently interrupted my schedule.

“This wasn’t an interruption; it was an invitation. Martha hurried. Mary noticed.”

When we finished, I asked the girl if her grandmother had been in the cafeteria. I wanted to tell her how kind and helpful her granddaughter had been. She shook her head. “No, ma’am. Grandma didn’t come down today. She’s in her room with my daddy.”

My first thought? How long is this going to take? I still have so much to do. But, something nudged me – go anyway. Don’t miss this moment.

She led me down a quiet hallway to a small room. A frail, white-haired woman sat on the edge of her bed, watching her son decorate a tabletop Christmas tree. The little girl handed her the gift we’d given her.

“Grandma, I helped pass out Christmas gifts and prizes today, and this one is yours.”

I told them what a treasure this little girl had been, so helpful, cheerful, and eager to serve. “She’s definitely a keeper,” I said.

Tears gathered in the grandmother’s eyes. She straightened and looked at her granddaughter with such pride. “Oh yes, we are so proud of her.”

And in that moment, my whole to-do list faded into the background.

“Sometimes God uses the smallest moments to pull us from our Martha-lists back to a Mary-heart.”

As I stepped back into the hallway, her son walked with me. He thanked me for my kindness, explaining his mother was a new resident still trying to find her place. I thanked him for raising such a thoughtful daughter.

My busyness had nearly stolen my joy that morning.

“I came to decorate trees…but Jesus came to decorate my heart with stillness.”

At Christmas, God used wise men, shepherds, and angels to proclaim His love. That day, He used a granddaughter…a frail widow… and a tiny Christmas tree to lead my hurried heart back to Him.

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.” Luke10:41-42.

This Christmas, let’s not let the urgent erase the important.

Where might your own holiday list be crowding out the “one necessary thing?”  Is there a sacred interruption God may be placing on your list today?