The Christmas Card

Strains of "I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas" could be heard over the roar of the tractor as the fully loaded bed rolled down the street towards the houses. At the sound all of the little kids came running out of the house to see what "Santa" had brought them. Brightly wrapped clothes, shoes, school bags, and Pantene Shampoos were passed out one by one until every kid was satisfied and we were happy with a job completed. I thought it was going to be a sad Christmas - with no money for presents, what were we going to do? So we prayed and waited and God moved hearts and the money came in. I cannot say thank you enough to those who helped make my kids' Christmas.

I must admit, after two weeks of shopping and wrapping and filling bags with candy and wrapping plates with apples and grapes, and decorating the gym, etc etc, I"m glad for a bit of a rest today. The festivities and fireworks lasted until the wee hours of the morning this morning.

But one moment that stuck out amidst all the festivities was one Christmas card. It's tradition that people bring cards for their friends etc and pass them out during the dinner. Well there is one kid who passes probably half the time mad at me, for what seems like no reason. He had gotten mad at me again the day before Christmas, so I really didn't expect a card from him, but there it was. A very beautiful hand-made card, but it was what was written inside that got to me. It said something like, "I know I've spent a lot of time mad at you, but I just wanted to say thank you for always helping me and treating me nice even when I'm mean to you, and I love you very much". I have tried hard to be nice to him, but I don't always succeed. But I never thought that it would make any difference to him. I think it was God's way of reminding me that appearances can be decieving. I need to act in love, no matter how the person responds. I need to keep doing what I was sent here to do, even when it seems they aren't responding. I've spent a lot of time learning the lessons of patience and perserverance this year. I still have a lot left to learn, but I thank God for being willing to teach me. I have soooo much to be thankful for this year, God has been with me every moment, and I have every confidence that He will continue to be in the coming year. It truly is a merry Christmas!