Christmas

As Christmas morning rolled around, I was snuggled in my bed after a late night of endometriosis pain and talking to friends. I fell asleep around... 5 am, and was woken up by a family member at about 10. Expecting Santa had come, I arose out of bed, and walked down the hall. After my brother and I were given the okay, we went for our stockings and our presents. As usual, I was expecting what I asked for. The previous year.. everything I even hinted at, I got. This year... I didn't get one thing that was on my Christmas list. I had suggested a band - MercyMe. I have a few songs of theirs, but not a whole album. Instead... my parents got me around 20 Third Day cds... which is okay, but I've never been a huge fan of Third Day. They got me a movie that I've watched twice and loved... a book that's the sequel to that and a hello kitty toaster. What really had me disappointed was the fact that my parents didn't listen to my requests. Sure, all that stuff is okay and all, but what I really wanted was Lost season 6. Disappointed, I took all my gifts and went back to my room.

After awhile a few minutes, I picked up a devotional book [Morning and Evening by Spurgeon].. and started to read. It occurred to me that I had been looking at everything... all wrong. While the gifts are nice, that's not the reason we celebrate Christmas. Sometimes we get so carried away with getting and giving... that we forget what Christmas is truly about.

While I'm still a little upset, I know that I have no reason to be. Christ was born without anything... and he took on the very nature of a servant... and didn't see equality with God something to be grasped. [Phil 2] Our savior was born in the most humble of places... and had Christ had a Christmas - with gifts and all... I bet He wouldn't have gotten the best gifts - coming from a poor family. The Son of God... was poor, humble, and ready to serve. Christ gave us the choice to know the father, even though we've sinned. He was the ultimate sacrifice.

So, while I didn't get what I wanted, it really doesn't matter. So what if I'm not in perfect health or don't have the perfect family. Christ sacrificed so much more... so what's a little "suffering" every now and then? If we could even call it that.... compared to what Christ suffered.

While we might be disappointed... or even overjoyed at what we got for Christmas, don't forget the Best Gift Ever... the one that truly matters - Little Baby Jesus.

Merry Christmas.


Note - to watch the video, first scroll down and pause the music player... then hit play on the video. Listen to the words.