I stared at the ceiling from the bed. I debated about getting up, but decided I preferred the warm blankets. Not longer after, I heard a soft knock on the door. Brenda replied, "Come in." Turner peeked in and excitedly said, "It is time." This coming from my child who commented he was not excited about Christmas this year. Something changed.
When the guys were little, we established a rule that there would be no opening of gifts until 6:00 a.m. Often they set together as brothers in torture watching the clock and looking at all those brightly colored packages. Talk was on Christmas Eve that they wanted to sleep in this year. They are older and more mature. So that it exactly what I had in mind looking at the ceiling ,though I first awoke hours before.
My excitement stemmed from what gifts all of us guys got Brenda, and that we were all together under one roof. A very rare occurrence these days. We read the Christmas story from Matthew 1 this year. We went around the room praying. In that moment, something very real hit me.
If I had not met Jesus as teenager, I would not have the blessing of Brenda, Taylor, Tanner, Tucker, Turner and Jennifer. I would not get to live in the house we reside in. I would not have a great job serving a superb church. None of the gifts this year, or years past, would have been possible without His provision. Everything good I have in my life I have because of Jesus. I did not desire or need anything else in that moment. My heart was full and the meaning of Christmas took on added significance.
I have enjoyed many Christmas days. I have enjoyed 30 with Brenda and two decades as a father. This one ranks right up there with some of the best of them. While I received much more than deserved from Brenda and our sons, my greatest gift came wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger a long time ago. That baby grew up to become my Savior. I owe everything to Him. For that, and many other reasons, I love Him and worship Him today.
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