The greatest Christmas present ever

When I woke up this morning I looked over at my closet and thought about how many Christmas presents have been stashed in it over the years. My mother had always stashed our Christmas presents in her closet when we were growing up, and we knew that. I remember the overwhelming urge to peak in the closet and see what we were getting. There were a few years where I gave in to temptation and looked when she was not around. Once I looked, it took away the surprise from it. I remember sitting on the floor as a kid and getting handed my presents and knowing what was in each one just by feeling the package and wishing I had not looked.

If you happen to be reading this blog, Mom, and if I have never confessed this to you, I would like to ask your forgiveness. I learned my lesson! I remember waking up early in the morning before the roosters and sitting on the couch in the dark with my sister with the Christmas tree lights plugged in, just staring at the presents under the tree. We could not wait for Mom and Dad to get up so we could open the presents. Sometimes we would "accidentally"be a little noisy so that they would just happen to wake up early. I remember counting down the days until Christmas and the excitement that I felt that was hard to contain.

That excitement was over material things that would only last a short while. Many of us still get excited over gifts we receive , and that is OK. But the GREATEST gift we have ever received is eternal if we choose to accept it, and that gift is JESUS. We should be more excited about that gift than any other. That gift that has been given is something we can freely share with others and it will last for eternity. One great way to share it is through our actions. We can speak the words, but if love does not show, the words just seem meaningless and empty. After all Jesus was sent to earth because of God's great love for us. There was love behind God's gift, so how can we share God's gift without showing love. ~ 1 John 4:7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ~  Let's see how many people we can share the GREATEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER with!