Reminders of the greatest morning

CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON

“Creator of heaven and earth,

He was born on earth under heaven.

Unspeakably wise,

He is wisely speechless.

Filling the world,

He lies in a manger ...

He is both great in the nature of God,

and small in the form of a servant.”

-- Augustine

Merry Christmas to you!

This is a morning like no other, and certainly the original

Christmas Day was one like no other, a day that changed everything,

and a day that can continue to change our lives today.

I sensed that I was to remind us all that the God of the first

Christmas is eager to be God of our Christmas today.

I watched a precious encounter with a woman and two small children

at a busy market recently. The mother had a baby girl in her grocery

cart and another girl walking next to them, and the mother and older

daughter sang, “Joy to the World.”

That Christmas carol is one of my favorites. I told them how much

I enjoyed their singing, and the little girl thanked me and went back

to hand a toy to her baby sister. The mother smiled and said, “Years

ago I bought a sign that said, ‘Jesus is the Reason for the Season,’

and I believe that saying more than ever before. My family and I are

trying to focus on that this year. We’re trying to keep things simple

and not get caught up in the glitz and glitter that take away from

what matters.”

Moments later I was in line behind a man who was filled with

complaints until that same little girl ran up to him and handed him a

dollar bill that she’d apparently seen fall from his pocket.

“Mr. Sir, I think this is yours. Have a Merry Christmas,” she said

with a big smile.

Her hair was bright and golden, her eyes as blue as the sky, and

her cheeks were as red as a glowing sunset. He knelt down until he

was looking her in the eyes and said, “Thank you, young lady. You

made my day, and you reminded me of the true meaning of Christmas.

I’d like to give this dollar to you to do something special with.”

She ran back to join her mother. The clerk and I both wished him a

Merry Christmas; he slowly smiled, wished us both the same and looked

back to wave at the little girl who had changed his attitude.

I came home and read the following verses in my Bible: “Dear

friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God

... God showed us how much He loves us by sending His only Son into

the world so that we might have eternal life through Him ... Dear

friends, since God loved us that much we surely ought to love each

other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives

in us, and His love has been brought to full expression through us.”

We can learn much from children. We can be changed internally and

eternally by that child who was born on Christmas morn. And you can

quote me on that.