Christmas definitely hit our household early this year and it has just begun!
The day started off with our annual Christmas party with my MOPS (Mothers of Pre Schoolers) group. We eat, we laugh, we have a devo and then we exchange white elephant gifts. Well...without boring you with all of the details of what gifts were there and who stole what from who...I will just tell you the super cool gift that I received. We were blessed with a member of our group from last year that was able to visit with us today. Her name is Angela and she has had a pretty rough fall. She was diagnosed with cancer and they have been aggressively fighting it for the past few months with surgery and then chemo. She was well enough to join us for the party today and it was so great to get to see her.
What was so awesome was that in a time where she could use encouragement from all of us...she brought a reminder to us today about what this season is all about. I just happened to get my gift stolen by the last person to get to pick a gift today so I ended up being the last person to get a gift and it happened to be a large red gift sack. It was really light and I actually thought that the gift might have already been claimed by someone and they just left the bag. Well, there was actually something in the bag...it was a small plastic cup from Ponderosa with a picture of a little boy in it. At first I thought that maybe I had received a gift that was meant for the kid's teacher or something. Then Angela stands up and says that she has a story and would like to read it. First, she asked me to tell everyone what I had. Then she told us a fantastic story that reminded us what the real purpose is and who our hope should be in! Here it is...
A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art. When the VietNam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son. About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. He said, Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you and your love for art. The young man held out his package. "I know this isn't much, I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this." The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted be the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. "Oh no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift." The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected. The man dies a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase on for their collection. On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel, "We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?" There was silence. Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, "We want to see the famous paintings, skip this one!" Bit the auctioneer persisted. "Will someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200? Another voice shouted angrily, "We didn't come to see this painting. WE came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids." But still the auctioneer persisted. "The son! The son! ho will take the son?" Finally, a voice from the very back of the room spoke up. It was the longtime gardener of he man and his son. "I'll give $10 for it." Being a poor man, it was all he could afford. "We have $10, who'll bid $20?" "Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters." $10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?" The crowd was becoming angry. The didn't want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections. The auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, going twice, sold for $10". A man sitting on the second row shouted, "Now let's get on with the collection!" The auctioneer laid down his gavel. "I'm sorry, this auction is over. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets everything."
God gave his son 2,000 years ago to die on a cruel cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is, "The Son, The Son, who'll take the Son?" Because you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything!
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16
So, to keep on with the symbolism...since I received the picture of Angela's son...I got everything. She had a big bag with lots of gifts in it for the one who kept the "son". (Honestly, I got it by default...I was the last one...no one could steal it and I couldn't trade it away. That is the way it is with Christ though. We get salvation a similar way. We don't do anything to deserve it...God calls us! We are just blessed that He had a plan to save us!)
They were really excited about them!
Peyton "helped" Brady open his gift.
We had the hardest time getting a good shot of Peyton. She wanted to do goofy faces!
and here is the Happy Baby!
