This is Christmas Eve Eve. Tomorrow the festivities begin in earnest. The kids will be here in the morning, and they will be super excited. Two of my daughters will be here overnight. There will be food and presents and laughing, no doubt.
But none of this is the best thing about Christmas. The thing that excites me most is the quiet of it. Quiet moments in a Christmas Eve service. A starry sky, Christmas lights twinkling on a hunred lawns, sold, still winter weather. Sometimes, I feel that if I listen a little harder, I can hear a baby cry and angels sing.
This Christmas Eve, I'm going to be working at Hope Inc. in the morning. We'll be handing out food and money to the people who really need it. I can't think of a better way to spend Christmas eve than that.
This year is tough for a lot of my family and church friends. One has lost a mother this week. Another has lost a grandmother. Two of my friends are looking for jobs. Still another is temporarily blinded, and can only hear Christmas. My parents are spending the first Christmas away from their home since he had to move into an apartment. My mother-in-law is just out of the hospital and can barely take care of herself, let alone do the preparations she usually does.
What Do we need for Christmas? Nothing. Nothing at all but the grace of God. Seeing those who are in deep need, I realize that I am already full. Two daughters are engaged. We all have jobs. We are all relatively healthy. God has blessed us so much that we can shower one another with more presents than we need. If I have any more health, wealth, and blessing, I will burst. This Christmas, if I need anything, it is to get my eyes off myself and onto those who really have needs.
I don't know who will read this, but if you really need something, may God grant you your deepest desires. Better yet, may God bless you with the gift of not desiring what we do not need, and make us content with what we have. Love, grace, and the beauty of the world is a far greater gift than we can eve imagine.
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