It's almost Christmas! My favorite time of the year and though we have always been blessed to have awesome Christmases, this year it just seems a little sweeter. All month long, Jeff has been preaching a sermon series on the gifts of Christmas. All day long, I have been preparing an endless array of gifts for friends and family and even doctors! So, all this talk about gifts got me to thinking...thinking about the many gifts we've been blessed with this year.
We have been blessed with an incredible gift of peace in the midst of a storm that we never saw coming. It was upon us before we knew it and we found ourselves reeling with each crashing wave...yet in the middle of all, Jesus spoke peace to our storm and gave us a calm that cannot be explained.
We have been given the gift of forgiveness. Not only forgiveness for our sins, although that is of upmost importance, but this year we have forgiven others and been forgiven by others. This kind of reconciliation can come only through the love of Christ at work in us. This year, we found ourselves realizing that hurt feelings were minor offenses that God could and desired to heal. Life is far too important for us to walk around mad at those who have offended us. The more we have forgiven, the more we realize that we too, need that same forgiveness. Even though I can't at this point say that every relationship is healed and restored, I can say that as for what I can control...all is forgiven. I also believe that it is just a matter of time before God restores every relationship...and this year I've learned that His timing is always better than mine.
We have been given the gift of family. No family is perfect. We all have skeletons that we'd rather not let out...yes, even families in the ministry (especially families in the ministry). This year, more than ever before, we have learned how important family is. Both our extended family and our immediate family have become extremely dear to us. Each one is a treasure...yet somehow we had taken our family for granted. We found that our fuse was shorter when it came to family...that our tempers were hotter...and that we didn't say I love you nearly enough. All that changed this year. God helped us put family back in its proper place and helped us gain a new appreciation for them. Our children, though they may not be perfect, are really good kids for the most part. Yes, we have the typical headaches that any family with teens and young adults have, but my kids (each in their own way) make us very proud. When faced with a life changing diagnosis, they we shocked and scared...but then each one has risen to the occassion and found ways to help out. This Christmas morning will be different for us...we've realized that the best presents don't fit under a tree!
This may sound very strange to you, but I believe we were given the gift of cancer this year. AND NO, I don't want Jeff or anyone else to have cancer...I hate cancer...let's get that straight. Here's what I mean...Jeff's life could've ended with a pulmonary embolism...we never would've even had a chance to say goodbye. His cancer could've been so far gone that we wouldn't even get a chance to fight. The embolism didn't take him out, and God gave us chance to fight because it is a gift. He has allowed me the opportunity to reach countless people through this whole ordeal. He has opened new doors of ministry that never would've been opened if not for that fateful diagnosis. He has allowed a community to watch my husband display a strength that can only come from God as he battles this terrible disease. He has allowed us to meet and interact with medical professionals and has used us to touch them in ways that wouldn't have been possible 6 months ago. As we pray and believe that God will heal Jeff, we are ever mindful that nothing happens in a believers life by chance...the steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord! This year, God ordered that we walk through the valley of cancer...we choose to be thankful in all things.
We have been given a gift of an incredible love. After 23 years of marriage, I can honestly say that each day I fall more in love with this man than I ever dreamed possible. I look at him on stage, and I think...that's MY man! I have worked side by side with him in ministry...and yet I still miss him if we have to be apart. I've seen him be gentle with those who need a gentle hand and I've seen him be more firm when needed. I've learned to appreciate and respect his judgement...he truly loves his flock. I find myself getting aggrevated with couples who vow to love each other "til death do us part" and then throw it all away because they "fell out of love". Then I remember, that we, too, once took our love for granted. We didn't cherish each other and as a result we weren't always very nice to each other. It took a conscience effort on both our parts to find our way back to our gift. This gift is more amazing than all the other gifts...but make no mistake...it is not an effortless gift. It is one that we must work at everyday, however, the more you work on it, the easier it gets and the more amazing it becomes.
Christmas morning will not reveal big gifts under our tree. We have what we need. I'll make our traditional pancake breakfast and we will catch movie together. But this Christmas, there will be something different. We will pause...we will appreciate...we will laugh...we will love...we will give thanks and we will remember God's gift...His son, Jesus Christ. Then, we will give that gift away...again, and again, and again...afterall, He really is the reason for the season and He is the greatest gift of all!
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