BE STILL AND KNOW
Whether she was Susan Pevensie of Finchley or Queen Susan the Gentle of Narnia, Susan loved a grand occasion. And there was nothing grander all the year round than the Royal Christmas Party that was held at Cair Paravel each year (and by and large, the parties there were always pretty grand anyway).
The past three Christmases, the ones that had followed Father Christmas's unexpected visit when she and her brothers and sister had only just arrived, Susan had made sure all of her subjects, from the tiniest Mouseling to the largest Giant (provided he was friendly) had been able to celebrate the holiday in ever increasing splendor and plenty. As soon as one party had ended, she had always begun thinking of what to do the next year and how she could make it even better, and soon all the Narnians began to expect that, year upon year, Christmas in Narnia would be greater than it had ever been before.
This year, though, Susan couldn't seem to find any excitement or any joy in carrying out the plans she had made the long year through. Peter and Edmund had searched the forest over for an even more spectacular tree than there had ever been before, and Susan, after rejecting the first two, was only partially satisfied with the one that now stood, it's topmost branch touching the Great Hall's vaulted ceiling and the rest of its heavy limbs straining under ornaments of gold and silver, under ribbons of silk in red and green and gold, under all manner of precious gems that seemed to dance and sparkle in the leaping torchlight that lit the banquet table, a table that would soon be groaning with an abundance of food and drink to please the taste of guests of every description.
She checked the list she had made, sure there was something missing yet. She had kept her ladies-in-waiting and all the servants (not to mention her hard-working brothers) occupied with preparations. The cooks in the immense kitchens of the Cair had been working for days already, and tomorrow they would be even busier. Even little Lucy had worked until, finding she had dozed off while shelling walnuts, Susan had sent her to bed. Not long after, Susan had told everyone else to get some sleep. She had even promised Peter she would be heading to bed in a minute or two as well, but that minute or two had stretched into three hours, and she still couldn't rest. There was too much to be done.
"I can't sleep yet," she told herself. "I still have to add strings of pearls to the Christmas tree and finish shelling the walnuts and put out sugar plums for the little ones to find. And I really should look again for the little stars the Dwarfs carved out of diamonds for us last year. It's a shame not to put them in the garland on the mantel here in the Great Hall. Everyone will be looking for them. And I need to—"
"Do you, Child?"
Susan caught a quick breath and turned from her list to see the Great Lion standing before her, His mane gold and shimmering in the hearth fire and His eyes warm as they looked upon her.
"Aslan." She went to Him and put her arms around His warm neck. "It's so good to see you. Will you be staying with us for Christmas?"
"I am always with you, Child. But I have come to see you now because you are burdened and weary. Why is that? In this time of love and joy and holiness, why are you troubled?"
To her surprise and shame, tears filled her eyes. "There's just so much to do. I try to start earlier every year, and it just gets harder. And everyone works so hard to do everything I ask of them, and still it's not done. Please, Aslan, how can I finish it all before tomorrow comes?"
"Tomorrow has come, Sweetheart. It is Christmas Day already."
Two hot tears trickled down her cheeks. "I know. And I'm still not ready."
"Ready for what, Child?"
"To have everyone come to eat and have presents and enjoy themselves."
"But why?"
"Because it's Christmas, Aslan. You know that."
"And will it not be Christmas if you do not do all those things?"
"Well, no, of course it will be."
"And if you did nothing else right now for all the rest of the day, will it not still be Christmas?"
"No. It will still be Christmas."
"And will not all your family and friends and all of your many subjects from the tiniest Mouseling to the largest Giant (provided he is friendly) still have food to eat and presents to open and merriment and love in abundance?"
She looked at her feet in their velvet slippers and shook her head.
"Do you think, Gentle Queen, that you are mighty enough to bring about Christmas or, mightier still, to keep it from coming?"
"No, Aslan," she whispered, not looking up.
"And do you think any of those who are coming today, especially those who love you most, will love you less if a hearth doesn't have a garland to grace it or a piece of wrapping paper is torn or a pie is a bit overdone or there is just one string of tinsel instead of five?"
"Oh, Aslan." She threw herself against Him, clinging tightly to Him again. "I'm sorry. I was just trying to make the day—"
"You were trying to make the day instead of merely remembering what the day is. Do you remember, Child? Do you remember why there is Christmas? Do you know?"
She closed her eyes against Him, remembering Mum and Dad telling her about the Baby in the manger and how He had come to redeem the world, to forgive them their wrongs and show them His love. Everything else, all that she was doing, was only embellishment. It was a remembrance of the day, of the what but not the why. The why was always there and would always be there.
She nodded against His neck, sobbing as He pulled her into His embrace.
"Shh," He murmured. "Be still. Be still and know."
The next thing she knew, dawn had come, and she was waking up in her own bed. Except for helping the cooks prepare the great Christmas feast (which had already been set out and ready to be made), she didn't do any more work that day. And, even so, there was only joy and merriment and happiness for everyone at the Royal Christmas Party. Somehow, even with so many things on her list left undone, her guests insisted that it was still the grandest party yet. And Susan found joy in being still and knowing why.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Like everyone, I've been very, very busy, trying to get things done instead of just enjoying what Christmas is really all about. I've posted a Narnian Christmas story every year since 2011, and I was afraid I'd have to break that tradition this time. But I managed to work this in at the last minute, and now I'm going to go enjoy the rest of the day. Merry Christmas to all of you. Be still and know that He is God.