This past Sunday in church a little girl about five years old sat beside me. She wore a Santa hat that was covered with large silver sequins. I told her, “I like your hat. I wish I had one like that.” Looking up at me, the girl advised in all seriousness, “If you really want one, you could put it on your Christmas list.”
So what would I write on my Christmas list (besides a silver Santa hat)? Three large items. First, good health for my family members and friends. Second, peace in all the countries that are wracked with violence. Third, holiness, that is, a more loving heart, for myself. I’m submitting my list to God, the most generous of all gift-givers. Doesn’t a psalm say that he bestows gifts on his beloved as they slumber? And of course, we are now in the Christmas season, celebrating God’s greatest gift: his Son confined to the body of an infant who would someday secure eternal life for us. Trusting in Jesus, who promised that anything we ask the Father he will give us, I send up my list, not to the North Pole, but to heaven.
On New Year’s Eve I plan to spend some time reviewing all the gifts God has showered on me this past year. Perhaps I’ll write a thank-you note for them.
Best wishes for a Merry Christmas season. Hope you celebrate all twelve days of Christmas. And may you have a New Year blessed with many things including more than a few good surprises.
What will you put on your heavenly Christmas list? In your thank-you note to God?
