I am giddy about
Christmas this year! I have no Christmas tree up, there are no presents
wrapped, and most things have not even been ordered; but I feel an overwhelming
joy this Christmas! I think it began on the Sunday after Thanksgiving when our
minister asked the congregation to write down three things we were thankful for
every day. She called it The 30 Day Challenge. What a wonderful exercise in
self-reflection.
As I begin to write I thought first of the
obvious...my family, my church, my granddaughter. Our challenge was not to
repeat what we were thankful for but to expand and observe how our list was
woven together and connected to each other. We needed to start looking at the
why and how of our thankfulness and not just make a list.
When I was a child, I saw Christmas
as a time to get things I had wished for throughout the year...that special
toy, that new dress. As an adult I saw Christmas as a time to make up for
things that we needed but had not gotten during the year... that new
refrigerator, that microwave oven. Christmas is not about wants and needs. It's
about love and giving. It's about thanksgiving. I feel that more than ever this
Christmas!
A few weeks back I received a message from a friend. She needed toys for her children this Christmas but had no idea where she would get them. I knew I could help a little but I couldn't provide the whole Christmas so I just began to pray. The very next day another friend asked if I knew anyone that needed help. I knew without a doubt God had heard my prayers. I was thankful to be an instrument of His love! What an awesome feeling of joy!
Recently I attended a memorial service of a friend who had become very ill in the last few months. Rather than mourn his passing, his wife chose to celebrate his life with thanksgiving. It was only within the last few years that her husband had accepted Christ as his savior, something she had been praying about for over 40 years. Another awesome feeling of joy this Christmas!
Yes, this is the first time I will have my family together in many years. No prison visit over the holidays, Matt will be joining us for Christmas dinner. Praise the Lord! But this season I seem to feel the blessings all around me. My joy is renewed each time I hear a story of hope or witness an act of love or thanksgiving. And just to make sure I continue to feel the joy inside, God sent the most beautiful blanket of snow on an unexpected Friday in December! What an awesome feeling of joy! Merry Christmas, everyone!
A few weeks back I received a message from a friend. She needed toys for her children this Christmas but had no idea where she would get them. I knew I could help a little but I couldn't provide the whole Christmas so I just began to pray. The very next day another friend asked if I knew anyone that needed help. I knew without a doubt God had heard my prayers. I was thankful to be an instrument of His love! What an awesome feeling of joy!
Recently I attended a memorial service of a friend who had become very ill in the last few months. Rather than mourn his passing, his wife chose to celebrate his life with thanksgiving. It was only within the last few years that her husband had accepted Christ as his savior, something she had been praying about for over 40 years. Another awesome feeling of joy this Christmas!
Yes, this is the first time I will have my family together in many years. No prison visit over the holidays, Matt will be joining us for Christmas dinner. Praise the Lord! But this season I seem to feel the blessings all around me. My joy is renewed each time I hear a story of hope or witness an act of love or thanksgiving. And just to make sure I continue to feel the joy inside, God sent the most beautiful blanket of snow on an unexpected Friday in December! What an awesome feeling of joy! Merry Christmas, everyone!
