During the holidays with advertisements for presents, toys, food, and everything else under the sun, if we aren’t careful we’ll miss the very heart of Christmas.
I remember the first Christmas my family and I spent at the seminary in New Orleans. We met a wonderful couple named Dave and Darlene Gore. They really made an impression on me, especially Darlene. Every year at Christmas time she baked a birthday cake for Jesus and sang Happy Birthday. Then her husband, Dave, prayed a beautiful prayer thanking God for sending His only son to live as a human, experience all the things that we do, set an example for us to live by and then sacrifice His life so we could live forever. Then we all sat at our dining table and enjoyed the cake, reminiscing about Christmases in our past.
This really got me thinking. I was working as a legal secretary in order to support our family, and we had no extra money for gifts and “Santa”. Darlene taught me how to make Christmas wreaths out of yarn and coat hangers, and I also made Christmas baskets using special pine cones that we don’t have here in Georgia. They looked like they had been shellacked. My children got into the spirit too by gathering the pine cones for me. I also used beautiful wired ribbon and other Christmas items like holly, small angels, ornaments, etc. on the baskets. Much to my joy and delight they sold like hotcakes at the law firm.
Before I went shopping for gifts, I took my daughter and son, probably 13 and 5 and we went to the Baptist Book Store on campus. They had a large receptacle where they collected money for the homeless in the city. I took the largest part of the money and we each put some in. I explained to them that since it was Jesus’ birthday, He got the biggest present.
I have kept that tradition every year in that Jesus always gets the most expensive gift, whether it be money to the homeless, the orphans in other countries, children whose parents are in jail, etc. The main idea is to keep Jesus the most important part of Christmas. All the toys, clothes, video games, etc. will all be gone and forgotten someday, but the gifts we give to God will be waiting for us when Jesus greets us in heaven someday.
Merry Christmas to all and Happy Birthday, Jesus!
Brenda Allen