Do you believe in Christmas
miracles? I do.
I have seen God show up two days before Christmas and provide
every dream I had for my large family of five kids in unexpected ways. I have
gone in to December with no clients in sight and God has sent someone to honor
me and my ministry for God & Country, with a large financial gift of honor.
Seeds sown had reaped a harvest; God had planned perfect timing for its
distribution. My family and I have known nothing less than abundant
Christmases, from indulging in gift list wishes to adopting full family’s for
Christmas, angels from trees, and seeding gifting opportunities at every red
bucket with a bell ringer. God is a God of abundance and blessings.
One recent Christmas, I was challenged
to let it all go – gifts and expectations, materialism and the pursuit of
financial giving. This was a difficult move for a mom of five who had built
years of Christmas abundance and traditions, and received gifts from even Mrs.
Claus! I was prompted to not provide a single gift to my children, but, in lieu
of gifts, to create a warm home with love and games and laughter by the
fireplace, to leave a chocolate bar and verse under the tree, and to write
individual letters to each of my children, explaining the true meaning of
Christmas, expressing God’s love and mine to them, and to give them the ‘Gift
of Faith.’
It was a humbling experience, after years of prolific
and historical gift giving and Santa’s plenty, there were a few tears of mixed
emotions and tender heart strings pulled, but there was a gift of love that
Christmas morning that was priceless. It was evident Christmas was much more
than gift wrappings and bows and dollar store finds and designer handbags. And,
the love of Christ was ever evident in our home full of His love.
Then, there was the next
Christmas, where a few gifts were found under the tree – the tree that my
college son had come home to buy and cut down with his youngest sister as a
surprise to me! – and, the miracle was found in the sibling’s love for one
another in many ways. Each child, aged 14-25, had taken it upon themselves to
provide Christmas for one another, with their own hard-earned dollars and
created shopping lists. They had picked names and spent a treasure on their one
sibling pick, plus each added extras for the youngest child still in her season
of Christmas excitement. And, it was the youngest two who went out like Santa’s
elves on Christmas Eve and stocked their packs with goodies for the Christmas
stockings for each of us. They chose perfectly thoughtful gifts and trinkets
and pocketbook treasures. What a delight to see before my eyes, the love for
family, the gift of thoughtfulness and sharing, and to see all the years seeded
in faith had unfolded in love. They had been paying attention to the details,
and, they had a keen understanding of Christ’s love and compassion and caring
and sharing.
Whether there is Santa’s sleigh
full, or a few treasures to unwrap, the Christmas miracle is truly found in the
love exchanged with one another. It was the Christmas traditions the kids asked
about each of these years – will you still make a big holiday dinner on our
Christmas tree plates; will you read The Night Before Christmas; will we leave
Santa egg nog and oats for his reindeer? Will we have our sibling sleepover,
with pillow fights and a Christmas movie ‘til we sleep? Will we look at every
family ornament, collected over the decades, and cut down a fresh Christmas
fir? Will we hang out in our pajamas all day, play chess and put together
puzzles? Will you make us breakfast while we all hang out in the living room?
Will it still be Christmas as our family has come to know it? And, the answer
was clear, as a cold winter’s night – the Christmas spirit isn’t in the gifts,
but in the love that is shared. And, in this, my family has discovered the
Christmas miracle, God’s faithfulness, and the true love of our Savior.
This Christmas, I feel the Lord
pulling me away from the traditions of man more than ever. It makes it
difficult to be in a world immersed in these ways. But, what I have learned is
that no matter what’s under the tree, the love that is offered to one another
is the best gift of all and the one, I am certain, that pleases Christ our
King. The Lord sees the heart, and in His love and care for us, gives us the desires
of our heart, sometimes in Christmas lists fulfilled, and, sometimes in the
Gift of Faith exchanged. Receive whatever the gifts of the season might be with
gratitude, share generously with others; let His light shine, and the Christmas
love that is meant for this season will shine brighter than the season’s lights
and create memories for a lifetime.
May this exchange be the
Christmas miracle you have been longing to experience. May the love of Christ
our Savior envelop you and your family this season. And, may it carry you for
years to come.
Jesus
replied: “‘Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it:
‘Love your neighbor (one another), as yourself.’
-Matthew 22:37-39
LOVE is the true Christmas miracle.
Read similar stories by Jacqueline Arnold at thechristianview.tv
Follow Author, Author's Coach, TV Co-Host Jacqueline Arnold at www.sweetlifeusa.com
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