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The Christmas tree is decorated, stockings are hung...waiting for Santa Claus to fill, cookies are baked, gifts are wrapped... well almost, and family is gathering for the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!! I want to wish you all a Very Merry Blessed Christmas! It has been a difficult year with losing family and dealing with the issues we all have been facing! Having Christmas and the spirit that it brings has given me Hope and His Joy! I pray you all have a blessed Christmas with your family and friends. As we gather together, which may be different, some will be seated right next to us, while others will be ever-present in our hearts and memories! Holding on to Christmases past is a gift in itself!
A family tradition that I hold so dear, is the reading of the birth of Jesus by my Daddy, from the book of Luke. I have been reading a chapter each day from Luke, seeing how the life of Jesus unfolds is amazing, a story that only God could have ordained! Also, hearing and seeing His words in red in the Bible is just simply miraculous! What a gift God gave us, a baby that would save us all. O Come Let Us Adore Him Christ Our Lord!
I wanted to share with all some other Christmas stories that show the true meaning of Christmas and a Classic as well!
Twas the Night Before Jesus Came in the Stable
’Tis better to give
I knew I was not supposed to be quite so excited. I was too old for that. At age eleven, the oldest and my mom’s “grown up” girl, I had to keep my cool. I was in middle school after all. But every chance I got, when I was alone, I checked each present under the tree. I read every tag and felt every package, guessing at the contents within. I had examined each gift so often that I could tell which present went to which person without even looking at the tags.
It had been a tough year for my family. Whenever my mom looked over at the tree and scattered presents, she would sigh and warn us, “There won’t be as much for Christmas this year. Try not to be disappointed.” Christmas had traditionally been a time for my parents to spoil us. In years past, the presents would pile up and spill out from under the tree, taking over the living room. I had heard the phrase “giving is better than receiving,” but thought that whoever had said that must have been out of their mind. Getting presents was the whole point! It was the reason I couldn’t get to sleep on Christmas Eve.
On Christmas morning, we eagerly waited in the hallway until Dad told us everything was ready. We rushed into the living room and let the wrapping paper fly. We made weak attempts to wait and watch while other family members opened their presents, but as the time passed we lost our self-control.
“Here’s another one for you,” said Mom as she handed me a package. I looked at it, confused. Having spent so much time examining the presents before Christmas, I recognized this one. But it had not been mine. It was my mom’s. A new label had been put on it, with my name written in my mother’s handwriting.
“Mom, I can’t…”
I was stopped by my mother’s eager, joyful look—a look I could not really understand. “Let’s see what it is, honey. Hurry and open it.”
It was a blow dryer. Though this may seem but a simple gift, to me it was so much more. Being an eleven-year-old girl, I was stunned. In my world, where receiving outweighed giving by light years, my mom’s act of selflessness was incomprehensible. It was a huge act. Tears filled my eyes and I thought in disbelief about how much my mom must love me to give up her Christmas so I could have a few more presents.
I have always remembered that Christmas fondly. It had such an impact on me. As an adult with children in my life whom I adore, I can now understand my mom’s actions. I see how she was not “giving up her Christmas” as I had thought, but was finding an even greater joy in her Christmas because giving truly is better than receiving. My mom’s simple act meant the world to me.
Blessings to you all this Holy Joyous Season! Have a Wonderful Christmas Week!
I want to thank you all for visiting, sharing, and supporting my blog. It means so much! I am so grateful! I pray you all feel His Love this Christmas, and enjoy the simple things, and always spread the true JOY and LOVE of Christmas... JESUS!
