Devotions
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Reminiscing
Its Christmas night, and all is finally calm. No more little voices and big booming voices. No more pitter patter of little feet. The presents have all been unwrapped and all the knee-deep wrapping paper and boxes put in the trash. The tree sits empty and void of beautifully wrapped surprises. Those surprises have now become possessions, and everyone is happy and content. The last of the kids have either gone home or have gone to their rooms for the night. I finally get a chance to sit for a while. Whew! Listen ... .it feels good ... quiet. All the desserts are finally out of sight and out of mind ... the last of the Christmas albums has finally finished and is ready to be stored for another year. The midnight hour has chimed, but I find myself reminiscing over the events that took place.... Great day! Great! Even better than great! Months of shopping finally done for this year. Too much money spent.... but the delight on the faces made it all worthwhile.... The grandchildren have really grown.... lt was great to have the kids at home together.... I wish the other four could have been here... but it was nice having a chance to spend some time on the phone with them all... I remind myself that next year I need to cut back.. .. Perhaps I have a tendency to overindulge. Maybe I really need to reconsider why I do what we do.... buy presents for people that really don't need anything else to clutter their shelves or their lives.... more toys to fill an already overflowing toy box... more clothes that in a few months probably won't fit anyway... too much food with too many calories and it will take me a month to lose the weight I have gained.... along with the debt that was accrued. Christmas... Christmas.... is this what Christmas is really all about? Oh, we keep Christ in Christmas I tell myself. We read the Christmas story. We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. We even gave a gift or two to those that didn't have. We went to services and celebrated His birth. We sang all the favorite carols. We kept Christ in Christmas... or did we? Why do we really celebrate Christmas? Is it for the gifts? Is it for the time we can spend together as families? Is it for the festive foods and traditions? Or, is it for the chance to share the real true meaning of Christmas with a lost and dying world? Christmas is the one time a year that for a few precious hours, He is beheld. Christ is the Lord. Many, who passed the year without seeing Him, suddenly see Him through the carols that are sung, the manger scenes and the activities of the holidays. God gave the most precious gift anyone could give. He gave His one and only Son for a world that was not even worthy of the thought let alone the action. Lord, don't ever let me get lost in the festivities and the glimmer and the gifts. May others see Him through my life, not only at Christmas time, but all year long. Don't ever let me forget why we celebrate Christmas. In a few hours the clean-up will begin. The decorations will come down the tree will be put away for another year. All the things in the stores will go on half-price, and the rush will be on once again for next year's shopping... Soon life will be back to normal again. December's generosity will become next year's payments, and the magic of Christmas will once again fade away. But for this moment, the excitement is still in the air. Maybe that is why I couldn't sleep. I want to savor the feelings and the memories for just a little longer. I want to pray that those who see Christ in Christmas this year will look for Him all year long. For Christ didn't intend for us to only celebrate Him once a year, but all year long. Pastor Fran
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AuthorNotes from the Staff @The Woods Archives
March 2023
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