Fah Who Foraze! Welcome Christmas, Christmas Day!

James 1:17 (NIV)

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

2 Peter 1:3 (NLT)

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.

Good morning Zebras,

As Christmas approaches it gets harder and harder not to focus on what is going to be under the tree on Christmas morning, at least for me.

What I want for Christmas is something that can’t be bought.  It is the privilege of continuing to do ministry, especially Zebras.  I love going out and encouraging God’s women to grow in their relationship with God and with one another.

Obviously, that isn’t something that can be wrapped up and put under the tree.  It is something that I have to wait upon God to provide.  He has to open the doors and provide the opportunities for me to speak.

Though the more I thought about it, the more I realized there are a lot of people who want things for Christmas that can’t be bought.  People who are ill want their health, infertile women want children, unemployed people just want a job and grieving people want their loved one back.

Then I realized even those people who want things that can go under the tree are dependent upon God.  God is the one who provides the money to buy the presents that sit under the tree on Christmas morning. Which is easy to forget when you have enough money or credit to buy whatever you want, but it is painfully clear when you don’t.

And in all of this the meaning of Christmas can easily get lost. And self-pity can set in.

When Dorothy and her friends appeared before the wizard in the Wizard of Oz, he pulled from his black bag things that helped everyone but Dorothy. They each received a worldly token that gave them what they needed. The lion felt brave, the scarecrow felt smart and the tin man began to cry.  But Dorothy knew there was nothing in the little black bag for her because all she wanted was to go home.

Lately I have been feeling like Dorothy but when I shared my feelings with my daughter she threw cold water on my pity party and reminded me of something I’d forgotten.

The reason the wizard didn’t have anything for Dorothy in his black bag was because she already had everything she needed.  The ruby slippers she had worked so hard to protect had the power to take her home.  She just didn’t know it.

So after a rough few days, I think God has me refocused. God has already given me so very much that if He never gave me another thing it would still be more than I deserved. And the focus of Christmas should not be the excitement of what is to come, but the gratitude for what has already been done.

Love,

Jill