Do you enjoy wrapping Christmas presents? For most of my life I would have answered that question with a resounding, “No!” Despite promising myself every year that I’m going to get an early start on it all, that pretty much never happens. I rush and hurry, sometimes at the wee hours of the night or morning, to get gifts neatly wrapped and properly tagged.
Lately, however, I have tried to take a different approach, and I think it has changed my feelings toward performing this task.
You see, now instead of focusing on the wrapping, I focus on the gift! I try to relive the entire experience of the gift buying experience, from the time I first thought of what to get, to the search process, and finally the purchasing. While I’m thinking of that, it helps to make the wrapping go much more quickly, and it increases my joy in the process!
As I continue to think about gifts, I become so thankful for all the gifts that God gives us and allows us to share with others. Over the last few months, we have been blessed to experience a very special gift with which God has blessed one of our students, Addison Agen. As she shared her heart and voice with the world, I couldn’t help but picture God smiling, knowing how he planted that gift within her, developed it, and made a way for her to impact the world! Aside from the wonderful success she accomplished, Addison shared her faith in a humble, kind, but very specific way that touched so many lives. Thanks be to God!
And so, this Christmas, we also focus on a gift, the greatest gift that was ever, and will ever, be given! Jesus came to us to be our Savior, and His birth brought the hope that was foretold by the prophets.
And as we move through this Christmas season, my encouragement is that we truly focus on that gift, and what it means in our lives! The secure hope of eternal life that was packaged for us when Jesus was born changed everything for us! Sure, there will be many things to do in preparation for our own family celebrations and whatever traditions we hold dear to our hearts this season, but let us always remember to keep our focus on the gift of Jesus. I pray that we continually give thanks and celebrate the totality of God’s love for us that he would smile upon us and share with us His one and only Son!
Merry Christmas to you and yours. God’s blessings in the New Year, and enjoy the celebration of this perfect Gift!
Following His Lead,
Mychal Thom,
Head of School