He read the story for the first time last night on his own. My oldest baby is emerging into such a confident reader. We sat around our long kitchen table with plates of Chinese take-out while our big guy read to us. He held the pages of the thick Advent devotional, blonde hair barely peeking over the edge of the pages. His little brothers listened carefully while he read from our family’s treasured Advent devotional, The Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp. And sure. We started a few days early this year to make up for the days we will inevitably miss when we grab a quick bite to eat on the way to the Christmas concerts, parades, and church services. We’ve learned from Christmases gone by that we will miss days. And that is quite alright.
The days we read together? I think those might be the most sacred moments for our family and for countless reasons. I treasure the minutes we squeeze in meaningful conversations about who God is. I deeply value the way these discussions open doors for big questions and the speaking of the good news. Jesus is always the best news.
I’m like every other mom in the momentum of December with lists of tasks and presents to wrap. I have groceries to buy and cards to send. I’ve spent time in the toy stores finding a special surprise for each little guy in my crew. I’ve dreamt of new ideas and planned out special moments. There are Christmas concerts where little ones will play the rhythm sticks while wearing “Christmas best,” and I will treasure these moments too. We’ll drive through the Christmas lights and linger a bit longer at the cave with white lights, the one that shows the angel above and the baby in swaddling clothes in Mary’s arms. I’ll treasure this moment too. {And hopefully, I won’t return home with the stomach bug like last December. Just no.} We’ll set up Daddy’s hot cocoa factory in December because this Mommy insists that Daddy makes the better cocoa. (This is brilliant, I know. You are welcome to this idea, as well.) They will treasure these moments and we will, as well. When it snows, I’ll freeze dallops of whip cream on cookie sheets to add to Daddy’s famous cocoa factory for a most special treat! This is special. No doubt, this is truly special.
Friends, I thrive on Christmas and the merriment. I don’t skimp on opportunities to make memories. This is my greatest excitement all year long. I’m a Jesus-loving Christmas elf, I tell you.
But in the midst of the memory making and the pure happiness of Christmas with little ones, there is something far greater. Better than the cocoa factory or the twinkling lights on the cave or even the Christmas caroling in the retirement home? There’s a much greater joy in our lives.
The sweetest gifts shared with my growing babies this Christmas won’t be the surprises that I’ll wrap in red string. Those moments will be special, but they won’t be the best gift.
With a grateful heart, I acknowledge the miracles that God has entrusted to us. We want to give the most lasting gifts. We want to gather around the long kitchen table, the one we painted white in our own garage. We want to share our humble meals, sometimes delivery pizza and sometimes homemade bowls of steaming soup. We want to read these Bible stories, the ones that prepare the way for Him. We want to hear their hearts and answer their innocent questions. We want to read of God’s love. We want to talk about ways we can be kind to children at school without a friend, how we can invite that friend into our lives to be the friend. We want to talk about the ways we know God’s love for us: that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. We want to remind them to love those who seem less lovable, because we are all imperfect and hard to love at times. But God. We want them to read the stories of our Recuer, our Redeemer again and again. We want them to see the ways He has always been writing His story and pouring grace upon grace into the lives of an imperfect, unlovable, broken people. We want them to see His sovereign grace in the lineage of Jesus: in Abraham and Moses, in Jesse and Jacob, in David and Soloman, in Ruth and Rahab, always preparing the way for Him.
We want them to see the big picture of God’s sovereignty.
We want them to see the attributes of God as fully truth and fully grace. Fully love and fully just. Fully righteous and fully merciful.
We want them to see the truth of the Trinity to better understand who He is.
We want them to learn about Jesus: fully God and fully man, tiny baby and Savior of the world.
We want them to see the greater story of His love, the one He is still writing in our lives today.
We want to gift our children with the full story of Jesus so that they may have every opportunity to know Him.
Salvation doesn’t come from parents. It doesn’t come from Bible stories, good theology, good programs, good teaching, or the best church classes. Salvation comes from God alone.
And our Sovereign God has entrusted these children, His children, to my care for this short season at home.
They are His. They are not mine to have at home forever. They are in my care for a season. By the grace of God, may I tell His story to the best of my imperfect ability so that they may hear more and more of His heart.
This Christmas, every Christmas, I will choose to live and to celebrate fully! We will take part in the traditions: the silliest and the most sacred. We will choose happy celebration!
And may this be His celebration. All this for a King? May the heart of God be the very heartbeat of our homes.
May we behold the Savior in the fullness of innocent questions and teachable moments. May Christmas devotions and elementary readers shine light on His bigger story.
May the best gift we give to our children this Christmas be our surrender to God to nurture the hearts in our homes for His glory.
In the midst of learning together and big, meaningful heart discussions, I try to speak hard truth so they see the vast difference between imperfect, earthly parents and a most perfect, gracious God.
I will disappoint you. I have sin that I repent from all the time, guys. I have a temper and I might say harsh words. I never want to disappoint you. I love you more than I can describe, but God loves you even more. I cannot even imagine how much that must be because I love you so very much! My heart could burst with love for you, but God loves you more. And when I mess up? You remember that God is the perfect one. He will not forsake you ever. I will do my best, but God will do much better.”
There’s no way to really know if we are getting this right, even a little. But God. God is gracious and I only need to surrender to His will for them.
Maybe the greatest gift begins, not with striving, but with accepting our role and surrendering to Him.
We accept our God-entrusted roles and we surrender this journey to His leading. We’ll travel this child-rearing, heart-teaching, adult-raising road by His grace and for His glory.
This is the best gift we can give.
This is the best of our love this Christmas.
May it be said of us.
From my heart to yours,
~Courtney
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