Our family went on “the polar express” Saturday night. We’ve been doing this as a family since our oldest was a toddler. I make a golden ticket ( or someone helps me now:) and we put their golden tickets under the tree that say “one ticket ride to the polar express. “ We have hot chocolate and get our Christmas PJs. We hop in the car and head out to look at Christmas lights. My husband even punches their ticket with his Santa hat on as they get in the van just like in the book or the movie. This year I had a friend recommend the peppermint milkshakes at Chick-fil-A as a treat while looking at Christmas lights and we all thought that sounded great! I took our pictures and everyone was set for a fun evening....until the milkshake spilled. We were halfway through the lights and our oldest stepped on his brothers milkshake. It dripped on his car seat and he of course started sobbing. While I would love to say that we saw Jesus’ kindness in my oldest’s response, instead he started laughing at his younger brother. My daughter just looked at me and said, “ well at least I’m being good mommy”. You can insert your eye roll here or screaming because I felt like doing all of those things! I threw napkins and wipes back to my oldest who cleaned it up and let my crying child finish my milkshake. I had fortunately taken pictures to send to the grandparents and put on Facebook before the spilled milkshake and crying began so we looked like such a happy family. We are a happy family BUT we are human and therefore sinners. We desperately need Jesus.
I remind my children all the time how much Jesus loves them. Of course I always tell them how much their dad and I love them and that Jesus loves them so much more and they can possibly imagine. However if am being honest though while I remind them and believe that Jesus loves them more than we can imagine, I do not always believe it for myself. This world is hard. I hear of so many things in this world that I do not understand and cannot comprehend. In the Message version, Romans 8:28 says “the moment we get tired in the waiting, God does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” We are called to trust his heart when we do not understand, and put our faith in God when circumstances seem hopeless. We are His BELOVED. The verse that many of us learned as children and can probably quote from memory tells us that God loved the world SO MUCH and sent His son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” I don’t know about you but sacrificing my own child is not something that I comprehend. God’s sacrifice and His great love for us to draw us to him is unimaginable. In a season that has become more and more about getting the “greatest gifts” we forget that the greatest gift is Jesus. I see this phrase on many magnets and bumper stickers but Jesus is the reason for the season! My prayer for you this Christmas season is that in all the hustle and bustle you are reminded of His great love for you! O, come let us adore Him!
