Christmas God Wink #2
I have been reading Ann Voskamp's Advent devotional book this year, The Greatest Gift. Usually my friends and I read one together, but this year I dropped the ball. So only my sister is joining me in re-reading this great little book.
Each day, along with the other devotional essentials, Ann includes a suggestion to take action in light of God's gift of Jesus. I've been trying to do them all along because it's fun and helps encourage me. She invites her readers to sing Christmas carols out loud, to create something from love, or do something just to please God. I've had no problem following along -- until yesterday.
Here's yesterday's task: "Go to a new place today -- to a neighbor's home you've never been before. Be a blessing and bring your neighbor a blessing of some sort. Leave him or her a Christmas card telling about Jesus, the blessing God gives to all people on earth!"
Let me say that there is nothing wrong with this idea. It's great, but yesterday I was not in a good frame of mind. Nope. Can't do it. I even told God I couldn't do it, " Lord, you know I've been embracing these challenges to serve you each day, but this one ain't happenin'. I'm tired. I'll probably go to some strangers house and end up the subject of a Lifetime movie, dead in the woods. Furthermore, I am going nowhere today but home and Bunn High School. And Lord, we both know there's not an inch of Bunn High School I haven't stood in, so there's just no way. I'm gonna pass on this one."
I drove to school and parked in the very same place I park every day. Walking past, I noticed a dollar on the ground beside our cafeteria manager's car. I picked it up and started walking toward the cafeteria to give it back to her. One the way, I started talking to a woman from the central office carrying a box.
"Is that a Christmas tree?" I asked.
"Yep." She grinned.
"Yay!" We shared a moment of Christmas excitement.
At the door to the back kitchen, I asked her to let me in with her master key, and she did. I found the owner of the lost dollar and had a wonderful conversation about how well her son is doing in college. He's one of my former students.
I didn't start to laugh until I walked back through the cafeteria doors toward my classroom. I had just blessed someone by going to a place I'd never been - the deep recesses of our school's kitchen. I had, in fact, completed the day's Christmas challenge before 7:30 in the morning, the one I thought was impossible. Clearly God does indeed have a sense of humor.
Merry Christmas. Pass it on.
Each day, along with the other devotional essentials, Ann includes a suggestion to take action in light of God's gift of Jesus. I've been trying to do them all along because it's fun and helps encourage me. She invites her readers to sing Christmas carols out loud, to create something from love, or do something just to please God. I've had no problem following along -- until yesterday.
Here's yesterday's task: "Go to a new place today -- to a neighbor's home you've never been before. Be a blessing and bring your neighbor a blessing of some sort. Leave him or her a Christmas card telling about Jesus, the blessing God gives to all people on earth!"
Let me say that there is nothing wrong with this idea. It's great, but yesterday I was not in a good frame of mind. Nope. Can't do it. I even told God I couldn't do it, " Lord, you know I've been embracing these challenges to serve you each day, but this one ain't happenin'. I'm tired. I'll probably go to some strangers house and end up the subject of a Lifetime movie, dead in the woods. Furthermore, I am going nowhere today but home and Bunn High School. And Lord, we both know there's not an inch of Bunn High School I haven't stood in, so there's just no way. I'm gonna pass on this one."
I drove to school and parked in the very same place I park every day. Walking past, I noticed a dollar on the ground beside our cafeteria manager's car. I picked it up and started walking toward the cafeteria to give it back to her. One the way, I started talking to a woman from the central office carrying a box.
"Is that a Christmas tree?" I asked.
"Yep." She grinned.
"Yay!" We shared a moment of Christmas excitement.
At the door to the back kitchen, I asked her to let me in with her master key, and she did. I found the owner of the lost dollar and had a wonderful conversation about how well her son is doing in college. He's one of my former students.
I didn't start to laugh until I walked back through the cafeteria doors toward my classroom. I had just blessed someone by going to a place I'd never been - the deep recesses of our school's kitchen. I had, in fact, completed the day's Christmas challenge before 7:30 in the morning, the one I thought was impossible. Clearly God does indeed have a sense of humor.
Merry Christmas. Pass it on.
Comments
Post a Comment