(Caleb at the beach this summer!)
Last night our oldest son, Caleb, had a basketball game that caused my blood pressure to go sky high! You know the games I'm talking about! It was back and forth the whole time. We were ahead, they were ahead, and then in the last 15 seconds they went ahead by 1 point. I was about to crawl out of my skin! We were all on pins and needles. Anyway, to make a long story short, Caleb got the rebound off of a missed free throw opportunity, dribbled down the court...had defenders all over him so he passed it out to our point guard who then shot the ball with 1 second left and............IT WENT IN! The whole place came unglued! The team was going crazy, they all jumped into a big pile on top of our point guard in the middle of the court! We won by 1 point! It was soooooo exciting!
A couple of days ago our youngest son, Jacob had a big Math test at school. He is in 5th grade. Jacob has A's in all of his classes but Math, which he has a B in. But, for Jacob that is just not acceptable! So, he studied his little heart out. Yesterday he got in the car with this defeated look on his face, I asked..."How was school?" He said, "Fine, except for my grade on my Math test." My heart felt sick for him. I asked him what happened, and then a smile broke across his face! You see, my children have inherited their Dad's gift of sarcasm! And then, with sheer joy he proclaimed..."I got 101! I only missed one but then I got the bonus question right!" He could not contain his excitement as he pulled the test paper from his backpack and posted it proudly on the refrigerator!!! What a victory! It was soooooo exciting!
(Jacob at the beach this summer!)
We have two completely different children, and yet both are wonderfully creative, active, and full of potential! They look at life very different. One looks like me and the other looks like David! Shopping for them at Christmas is also a picture of their differences! When they grow up and have families of their own I know that they will no doubt raise their children different, have very different professions, and probably approach every relationship they have very differently.
The world is a beautiful place because of our differences. Life in general would be dull if we all looked the same, enjoyed the same things, and had the same personalities. And dinner would be very bland, if we all ate like my husband, who does not like anything but meat and potatoes. During the holidays our differences show up on many levels. How we celebrate. The traditions we hold dear. What we buy. Who we buy for. How much we buy, ect.... I think this in one reason the Christmas season is so wonderful! When you really think about it, Christmas is a great reminder that Christ came for EVERYONE! Oh, we talk about it all the time. We give to missions, we do charitable things, and we worship together. But, really think about the scope of what His birth meant. His birth means that despite our differences, we now belong to ONE family. His birth and the salvation it brought, meant that Jews, Greeks, Arabians, Egyptians, red, yellow, black and white...we all belong to Him. He became our Savior, and we became children of THE KING! His love is for us all.
As you go about your Christmas, be reminded that He loves you just the way you are, He loves you for who you are, and He loved you so much that He left the throne room of heaven to be born in a stable! Find your identity in Him, your self-esteem in Him, your purpose in Him! Find beauty in the complexity of our world and the people in it. Find Christmas in Jesus!
What are some of your Christmas traditions? Comment and let us know how you celebrate. I bet we are all different!
Posted on
Thu, December 18, 2008
by Crystal Colp
filed under