When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.

Luke 2:15

Love can be defined by relationship. And you know what relationships are? Often… inconvenient. Their currency is time, one the most valuable and scarce commodities in today’s culture. They flourish when we are fully attuned, fully present, when we turn our attention from our need to produce and perform and instead focus on others.

Relationships come with strings attached. They are built over a rhythm of scheduled get-togethers and shared memories, but are strengthened by the surprise interactions. The drop everything and show up times. The hospital visits, the meals cooked and left on doorsteps. The can you come-over-I-need-you-now calls. In order to be good at relationships, you have to allow yourself to be interruptible.

Yet, no matter how flexible we as humans are, we are often married to our agendas. Interruptions are seldom convenient, and often come when we feel spread the most thin. They require sacrifice and emotional investment. But these interruptions pay off with love. Blessings. Tender moments we are given the gift to witness. They are the foundation stones on which we build our most important connections.

Sometimes, like with the shepherds, these moments come with a glowing neon sign. YOU ARE NEEDED HERE. PLEASE COME. THIS IS A BIG DEAL. These invitations are easy to recognize and seem important to accept. However, the shepherds weren’t the only visitors at the stable.

The Magi also showed up. Not at the invitation of a heavenly host of angels. Instead, they were watching for the sign. They spent their lives attuned to the skies. They saw the star and marveled. They saw the star and packed for a journey. They put their lives on hold to chase the crazy invitation they saw etched in the heavens. That star shone over everyone. Millions of eyes may have seen and remarked on its brightness. But only a handful of people allowed their lives to be upended by it. The Magi accepted that invitation, and the world remembers it to this day.

We have invitations to relationship in our lives that happen this way too. Not in trips to the ED or in big gestures, but by living a life attuned to the world around us. Seeing the invitation to relationship by those who are lonely or in need or just new and friendless. Showing up in their lives is a blessing. The gifts you bring more valuable than gold, frankincense or myrrh.