Through The Bible in a Year - February 17, 2026

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” – John 1:14

A hospice nurse on Christmas Eve, still grieving her mother’s death, grumbling about being called to the ER. “Christmas Eve, bah. No one really cares.”

Then she met her patient—confused, afraid, alone. No family. Nobody. Lost in dementia. All of this desperation amid the ER cacophony: loud voices, monitors blaring, expletives, vomiting, doctors’ pages blasting on the intercom.

Just to calm and distract the patient, the nurse made a blanket into a puppy named Barney. She mentioned it was Christmas Eve and the patient’s banged-up nose made her look like Rudolph.

The woman’s face lit up with joy. She began singing Christmas carols at the top of her lungs. “Joy to the world, the Lord is come!” For an hour, in her wobbly 96-year-old voice.

The nurse was embarrassed at first. But then she heard it—orderlies, janitors, and nursing staff starting to sing along. Voices from other rooms. Patients and families joining. An odd, holy Christmas choir.

The nurse wrote: “I should have taken off my shoes because the icky, germy hospital floor had become holy ground. When she was finally leaving, she raised her arms and said, ‘I am so full of joy.’ Christ was here tonight, swaddled in dementia and desperation. Even there the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. This was holy ground.”

You begin to see your world differently when you see that wherever God is, that is holy ground. And God is everywhere His people love Him, recognize His hand at work, and do His service.

Respond: Where is your “icky, germy hospital floor”—the place that feels anything but holy? Look for Christ there. He’s swaddled in the most unlikely places, making holy ground everywhere.

Prayer: Lord, help me see You in the icky, germy places of life. In the chaos, the confusion, the places I’d rather not be—You are there, making it holy ground. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear Your presence everywhere. In Jesus’ name, amen.*