It’s Christmas Eve night, and I’m sure you’ve all been celebrating accordingly. Candlelight services, cookie making, family dinners, gift wrapping. All the beautiful things that make up one of our favorite days of the year. In a way, I love Christmas Eve almost more than I love Christmas Day. Christmas Eve is like one collective breath, held in anticipation and wonder at what is to come. We don’t sleep well, because we’re waiting. We laugh, we wish, we wait, barely breathing because we might miss the magic of Christmas if we do. We wait 365 days for December 25th, but it’s December 24th that makes it all possible.

Every year there seems to be this hour every Christmas Eve night, where I look into my living room with Christmas lights, ornaments, and stockings, and I feel like the world stands still. I feel like the whole world is frozen in this life-like postcard that sums up Christmas perfectly. And I can’t help but think, it’s the most perfect metaphor.

As a writer, my favorite Christmas Carol will always be, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” There is something breathtaking in the lyrics that makes me think of Christmas Eve and all it means to me.

“O little town of Bethlehem,

How still we see thee lie.

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep,

The silent stars go by.”

I imagine the whole world, sleeping, exhausted from the census, just trying to catch a break. Yet. Somewhere on this dreamless night, Bethlehem is finally lying still. Anticipation, expectation, wonder. The whole world is holding its breath. Angels are holding their breath. God himself is making His entrance into the darkest night.

“Yet in the dark street shineth,

The everlasting light.

The hopes and fears of all the years,

Are met in thee tonight.”

Every hope, every fear, everything in life has culminated to this moment in history. This moment when Jesus Christ was born into a little town that no one thought about, to a little family that no one knew about, in a little stable no one cared about. The whole world had waited for this moment since the moment the possibility of redemption was in Genesis. The Messiah that humanity was anticipating, was being born in a stable. And so many people missed it. So many people are still missing it.

I guess I like to think of Jesus being born on Christmas Eve. And please, don’t lecture me on how Christmas is some pagan holiday that just got chosen at random as the date we celebrate Jesus’ birth and he was probably born at some completely other time of the year… I know. I’m not saying he WAS born on Christmas Eve. I’m saying I like the symbolism. Christmas Eve, we’re holding our breath, we’re anticipating with every tick of the clock, we’re waiting on these gifts promised and hoped for since the beginning. And Christmas morning dawns clear and bright, and the wait is over. We have finally received all that was promised to us.

But Christmas Eve is where my heart will always be. My heart will always be in that little town of Bethlehem, dreamlessly sleeping, anticipating something I can’t even comprehend. I can’t even comprehend that my Savior would choose to come to a filthy, dirty world, and save a filthy, dirty people. But oh, how glad I am He did. Christmas morning is beautiful, and as Christians, it’s where we should live, rejoicing in the gift that has been given to us. But Christmas Eve is where we find it, where we see it, where all of history led to and began from.

So tonight, feel the spirit of Christmas, anticipating all the beautiful blessings Christ has given you. Most of all, think of that blessing that will forever be the culmination of everything that’s ever been, ever will be, and ever was. Don’t miss it. Don’t be like those at the first Christmas. Jesus Christ came down to the earth to redeem us. The hopes and fears of all the years, are met in thee tonight.

I never actually thought I’d write a blog post on Miley Cyrus. The thought has honestly never even entered my mind. This chick gets enough attention, positive and negative, that I don’t really need to be saying anything about her. But I recently discovered something about her that struck me. And as always when I am struck by something, I find purpose in writing that striking thought down. So here I am, writing the post about Miley Cyrus.

I recently read a newspaper article (yes I read the newspaper…), and it made an amazing point about Miley Cyrus, just after her infamous performance with Robin Thicke on the VMA’s. The article said although what Miley did was horrifying and completely filthy, she wasn’t the only one to blame. We also shared in the blame. We, the world, watched Miley’s show and commenced to tweeting and sharing our thoughts, again both positive and negative, about the event for the next few weeks. Even if we said that the performance was a vile, lurid show, we were still giving it attention. And frankly, I don’t think it deserved even the least little bit of attention. After all, wasn’t Miley after the shock value? Wasn’t she thinking of the “no publicity is bad publicity” mantra? Miley claims you can love her or hate her but you can’t deny her. And I think in the past year of her career, she has set out to prove just that. Miley’s career has been one shock or scandal after another. But hey, she’s getting attention, right? What was that lovely line she warbled on her new album? “Forget the haters cause somebody loves ya?”

Honestly, I don’t hate Miley Cyrus. I don’t condone her actions in any way shape or form. And I completely disagree with her entire lifestyle. Most of the time I feel ashamed that our culture has stooped to a place of worship over someone who so defiles every principle I stand on. Nevertheless, I don’t hate Miley Cyrus. I feel like if she’s to blame, so is our entire culture. We are all to blame because we are all full of sin. Miley upsets me, because I’m reminded of how many things we as humans do to fill our lives without Jesus. And in the end, I just feel sorry for her.

Sorry for her? Yes, sorry for her. And this is where my striking thought comes in. Recently, I stumbled across her twitter (and I don’t recommend a large examination of it). As I scrolled through her tweets, I found tweet after tweet laced with sad undertones. Oh sure, she sticks her tongue out and throws up a peace sign and says she loves her life. She has more money than anyone probably should ever have. And she really lacks for nothing. Yet… Time and again I scrolled through and found tweets about boredom, restlessness, and not being able to sleep. It might seem strange that I noticed that last one, but I have spent enough time around lost people to know that a characteristic of being without God’s peace and love is not being able to sleep well. Of course I’m not saying if you can’t sleep well, you’re lacking spiritually. And I’m pretty positive there are plenty of lost people in the world who lay their heads down at night without a care. Yet it struck me that this girl who likes to act like she has everything, this girl who seems to have no shame or code of morals, cannot sleep at night. You might think I’m reading into this too much, and maybe you’re right. But maybe not.

Because my next thought was, if Miley Cyrus is lying awake at night, what is she thinking about? What if she wishes she could start over? What if she cries herself to sleep, wondering if this is all there is to life? What if, deep down, she feels the regret of her actions? It wouldn’t take a deep look at Miley’s past to know not a decade ago she claimed to be a Christian. I think that’s the saddest thing of all. All of this from a girl who once seemed to know the truth. What if deep down she remembers that young girl who at least had head knowledge about a God who loved her? What if she wonders where all that went? And what if these thoughts keep her up at night? And what if she doesn’t even know who she is anymore? What if she feels defined by who she’s become? What if she hears one camp of people screaming she is filthy person, not suitable to live, and another camp of people screaming to do even more filthy things? What if she wonders if anyone really loves her?

I think as human beings, we are all susceptible to so much doubt and fear that Satan whispers to our hearts. And the only way we think we can survive it is to try and drown it out. Some people try to drown it out in empty relationships and broken promises. Some try to drown it out in drugs or alcohol. Some try to drown it out with money and success. And some try to drown it out with scandalous performances on national television.

You know what you’ve tried to drown in. Fill in the blank. But the truth is we’re all just drowning. Drowning and trying to catch our breath in a culture that has taken love and reduced it down to something to help you ignore the “haters.” The only thing that makes me different from Miley Cyrus is that I stopped drowning in my sin and fear and doubt. I was rescued by Jesus Christ, the only one capable of silencing Satan’s lies forever, and the only one who can truly show love.

I’m not saying we should all start praising Miley. Please do not misunderstand me. But I also wonder if there aren’t potential Mileys all around us. There’s someone you passed by today just as broken as Miley Cyrus, and someone wondering if they are loved. Don’t let their hope come from a pop singer with a distorted view of how to measure love. Don’t let them drown in a sea of fear and doubt. Probably none of us will ever get the chance to talk to Miley Cyrus. But you have that chance to change someone else’s life today through Jesus Christ’s love. Let that love rule in your heart, as you seek to refocus our culture on all the things that seem to have fallen away. The things that are pure, noble, good and right. This culture and future is ours as much as it is Miley Cyrus’. We have the ability to change it. We have the ability to love someone today. Miley Cyrus won’t ever find any peace in her life apart from Jesus Christ. And there are people in your life who are suffering from the same condition. So next time you see a post about what Miley wore, or said, or did, take a moment to pray for her, and pray for someone else who’s also hurting. We have the ability to tell someone about the hope we’ve found. Don’t waste it. And maybe, just maybe, someone will sleep a little better tonight.