This Christmas

Our family has loved this song from the first time we heard it, but we never imagined how personal it would become.  This Christmas will be our first with our son.  I remember a particular day last year, the Sunday before Christmas, when we were shopping with our girls.  They kept picking items they wanted to get for their new brother.  My husband and I would remind them that we didn't yet know when we would be going to Taiwan to get Alex, so we wanted to hold off on buying anything.   The very next day we got the email telling us we could come and get him!  It was a frantic mess around our house over the next week, wrapping gifts, packing, getting the final documents together, and preparing our home for a new family member.   We had two Christmas celebrations, one on Christmas Day with our girls and another in January when we brought Alex home.  It was a joyous occassion, but not a real Christmas.

This Christmas will be different for our little boy.  Last week, Alex was able to help decorate the tree and our house.  He is enjoying to choose gifts for his sisters.  He is looking forward to our traditional family celebration with church on Christmas Eve, stockings, pajamas, games and a big family meal. Most importantly, he knows the love of Jesus and the real meaning behind Christmas.

This Christmas is also different for my husband, our girls and me.  We didn't stop at enjoying a song.  When God put a little boy in our path and left a door standing wide open, we walked through in obedience.  Something that seemed impossible has become a reality for our family, simply because we said yes.  Often our family want to do something and we're told no, because the kids are too young or the timing isn't right or a multitude of other reasons.  Often the no comes from within our family because we are scared or lack the energy or another multitude of reasons.  Occassionally, we take a small step, like saying yes, and God rocks our world with the giant leap he can make out of our small step.  Through this experience, we witnessed a body of believers pull together in a way many people don't get close enough to see.  These people are willing to go to amazing lengths to build families and we felt that first hand.  God showed Himself in a big way to our family and our faith exploded because of the evidence of His love and faithfulness. 

This Christmas can also be different for your family.  With over a week until Christmas, there is time to purchase a gift for a needy child, adopt a local family, serve dinner at a shelter, send Christmas cards and share a little bit of love.  God will multiply your gift, so do not be afraid that it isn't enough.  Share your joy.