thanksgiving21: Christmas.

I'm sorry. I realize this may defeat the purpose of all of these posts, but I am thankful for
Christmas!!

Why?
Because: it's CHRISTMAS, people!
the decorations, the songs, the generosity, the memories, the list keeps going.

I love the excitement of it all. I love that it's around the corner.

And I love the reality of all that it celebrates.

I chose this today for 2 reasons:

1) I went to Target and saw all the Christmas decorations. Yep. Twice.
And 2) I remembered the joy of the Gospel today while I was at work...which is why we celebrate Christmas.

The story: I was delivering Meals-on-Wheels on behalf of my school this morning. I usually get to take 2-3 students with me (which is so fun!) Today, though, I didn't have permission slips on file for any of my students to go, which meant I was left to deliver alone. I stayed up way too late last night, didn't take a shower before work today, and felt like I could easily fall asleep behind my desk if I let myself. Needless to say, I wasn't in the best mood. To top it off, it was cold and wet outside.

So...when I delivered my MOW route today, I tried to politely speed through every stop, giving the bare minimum of enthusiasm to the people of the route. That worked until I stopped at a man's house who hugged me. I could tell he was upset. This man is disabled, elderly, and has in the last few years lost the most important things in his life. Today, he seemed particularly sad. He shared some bad news he'd just read about about a relative's cancer. With tears, he said 'But I believe I'll see her in heaven because I believe in God.'

I stopped and caught myself for the selfish person I'd been all morning. I was going through the motions without investing my heart.

I said to the man, 'There's such hope in that!' I told him I believed in Jesus Christ and knowing that I have hope in Him brings me through tough times.

He cried again, but this time tears of joy AND sadness. He looked at me and said he's so happy to know that he'll see me in heaven too. We shared the Gospel together, he and I in a matter of about 3 minutes.

JESUS- He's the core and foundation of Christmas. He is the reason behind the entire season, which means so much more than a mere celebration of giving. It means, I have hope for a future. It means, because of His death and resurrection, my sins are made clean.

THAT is a reason to be thankful!