Christmas Past
Its a very first world problem, but Christmas makes me extra sensitive to what I've been going through all year. You know kind of like God should miraculously make up for all the trials I endured by dropping off a large sack of gifts. Oh wait that's Santa. But I still tend to feel that way, rational or no. I was reminded by Facebook a couple of days ago about a Christmas our family went through a few years ago and I had somehow forgotten. Other than last year's holiday, this one was definitely a tough one.
It was December 2009. We had just planted a church and had a baby. Our family car, the only one that could fit all eight of us, had broken down and we couldn't afford the repairs. All of our family was out of town for the holidays and we didn't have any money for gifts. Nada dinero. My in laws had blessed us with a trip to the beach for Christmas so we packed up the borrowed church van and filled it up with the kids and their stuff and the food we bought with my husband's bonus from work. I prayed in a pitiful way that God would provide some means for me to buy just a few gifts for my babies and set my mind and heart to looking for ways that God had blessed us throughout the year.
We ended up receiving a $75 gift card for the mall in Myrtle Beach that somehow miraculously stretched into enough gifts for 6 kids and filled stockings. We made our traditional Christmas Eve dinner, walked on the beach, and just enjoyed one another's company. Our apartment was located on the 12th floor and unit 25, room 1225. God's gift to us, this simple Christmas. One where He showed us that it wasn't about the stuff. One where He taught this momma that He cared about her desires for her children.
It was December 2009. We had just planted a church and had a baby. Our family car, the only one that could fit all eight of us, had broken down and we couldn't afford the repairs. All of our family was out of town for the holidays and we didn't have any money for gifts. Nada dinero. My in laws had blessed us with a trip to the beach for Christmas so we packed up the borrowed church van and filled it up with the kids and their stuff and the food we bought with my husband's bonus from work. I prayed in a pitiful way that God would provide some means for me to buy just a few gifts for my babies and set my mind and heart to looking for ways that God had blessed us throughout the year.
We ended up receiving a $75 gift card for the mall in Myrtle Beach that somehow miraculously stretched into enough gifts for 6 kids and filled stockings. We made our traditional Christmas Eve dinner, walked on the beach, and just enjoyed one another's company. Our apartment was located on the 12th floor and unit 25, room 1225. God's gift to us, this simple Christmas. One where He showed us that it wasn't about the stuff. One where He taught this momma that He cared about her desires for her children.
Comments