Can you imagine how Joseph (not Mary's husband) felt when his coat of many colors was taken from him?A week ago, out of the bue, Whitley burst out in tears and said that her new down, winter coat was missing. She said that she had looked everywhere including the lost and found and was told that it had been taken.
The tears were contagious and I began to cry. She had only worn the coat 2 times. It was a quality down coat that a lot of love and thought went into, before purchasing it. It was one of those deals where you talk yourself into spending a little more because we knew it would keep her warm on the ski slopes and at recess. It was the kind of coat where the sleeves near the wrist were finished in such a way that Whitley could flip it and get a few more inches in length, which translates to at least two winters of wearing the coat. I cried because the school had just hit us up for a $78 PE fee, a $20 PE uniform, a $111 dollars for dance costumes, a $40 outfit for a Christmas recital, and the list goes on and on!
A couple of days later, we learned that a teacher had taken the coats for a drive at her church. Someone in the office had given her permission to do so before a local goodwill came for their usual lost and found pick up...which meant they were taken right off the coat racks and we were not the only family effected. This is the part that turned my salty tears to anger. Why would they be collecting winter coats off the rack on an 18 degree snowy day!?!
Well, it was going to take a lot of prayer for my heart to soften. I was not happy about this and even less happy when I found that the coat had already been shipped out and was irretrievable. There were so many questions that loomed in my mind but the biggest question was, "Why couldn't I be more gracious and happy that the coat went to a church charity, to needy children?" The answer was....because the coat was expensive and brand new!!! And that is precisely when it hit me!!!
I instantly began connecting the dots of the Nativity, pictured above, that sits on my fireplace mantle every year at Christmas. The situation caused me to think about the way I "give". Although I didn't directly or voluntarily "give" the coat away, I had to think about it in the context of whom it was being given to. I started thinking, "Wow, when GOD sent Jesus to earth to be our Christmas gift, he didn’t send us a Hand-me-down, or a ratty used item, or something "re-gifted", He sent us brand new baby....HE SENT HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON!!!! God gave us His absolute best, something he treasured dearly, something we didn;t deserve and he didn’t do it indirectly, or unwillingly....he did it of His own accord to pay for our sins!
I have been humbled this Christmas. I have been given so much and threfore, much to is required of me to give. I also realized that whenever anything is "missing" in my life, I need to let the love of God fill the void. This Christmas there are sure to be many things "missing" for many of us....jobs, a well funded savings account, a limb, a family member, etc.....but the one thing I hope you all have is JESUS!!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOURS!
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