Tomorrow Advent begins! The time of prayerful anticipation as we wait to re-live the birth of Christ; hopefully, learning new ways to seek and love Him in the days leading up to Christmas and beyond.
In preparation, Jack and I have been “reading” the book, ‘Three Gifts for Baby Jesus’ about the three Wise Men and their journey to pay homage to the new King. I say “reading” because it consists mostly of me quickly paraphrasing the overly long text, while Jack excitedly says, “Horsey, horsey, klop klop klop!” as he points to the camels on each page, until we reach the last one with the manger scene. At the end, I have been explaining to Jack that the kneeling Wise Men offering gifts are there to say, “Jesus, you are God, and we love you so much that we want to give you our favourite, most important things—the things we love the most.” Then I tell Jack that he would probably give Jesus Ellie (his well-worn elephant lovey), because she is his favourite thing; and that I would give Jesus him, because he is MY favourite thing. If I were to reflect further, there are many more important things I can offer: the plans I had for my life, my will, my marriage, etc.
Over the course of my illness, I have been blessed with wonderful people who have offered me and my family their gifts. A great many of them have offered us their greatest gifts; time, in this oh-so-busy world; money, when they could have used it themselves; friendship, in magnitude I have never in my life been so blessed with; and finally, their hearts—whether it be in prayer, a card, a visit, a birthday party, or the gift of insight into their own life that I may have only scratched the surface on otherwise.
We pray each night for “all the people that help us out so much” as we kneel by Jack’s crib. I also pray that you would be blessed for all of your efforts, no matter how big or small they may seem to you. God knows the heart with which you offer them. And what you do for us-- you have done for Him! God’s blessings, and a prayer that you would know the peace that this season can bring; one outside of shopping malls and wish lists; one only found in Christ our King!
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me...’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ ~Matthew 25:32-36,40
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