My little boy is growing so fast before my eyes! The picture on my header is of my eager 6 month old Stephen. He was getting into the presents before I got my camera out. Once the camera came out, sweet little patient boy came out too. This is the only time I have seen him rest his chubby little cheek on his chubby little hand! Can't you just see the excitement and wonder in his little face? It's almost as if he's trying to guess what absoultely thrilling gift is wrapped in that disguising paper just for him. Maybe it's the rocket booster I asked for...or, whatever. What 6 month old does that? Apparently, mine. My husband said my joy of Christmas has already caught on to him. You know what? I hope so! Unfortunately, the presents he was digging into, 3 in particular, are for some nieces and my mom. What a sad boy I would have on my hands to open girly things! So he would not ruin their wrappings, I pulled that flat green one out that actually is his, so he could tear it up ...if it came to that. I'm not telling what it is though!
Matt has been pretty funny about Christmas gifts and Stevie. We can't talk about his gifts around him or wrap them in front of him because then "he'll know" of course. Well, one day I did wrap one of his gifts (a stuffed lion, shhh!) in his presence, and it was all I could do to NOT get Stevie to watch. It was hysterical. Umm, my little 6 month old, you are not supposed to see this yet. I actually had to hide it behind the box it was shipped in because he watched my every move (and normally he could care less).
Anyway, I am apparently the queen of tangents. This whole "series" is supposed to be about the love of my life. Well, reign those horses in because this is all somewhat related, in my head anyway.
Let's go back to this: My husband said my joy of Christmas has already caught on to him. You know what? I hope so! I love Christmas! I love picking out gifts and sharing them with others. Isn't it so exciting to see someone you love open up the gift you picked for them, and just see the smile! Last year, Matt and I gave my 2 year old nephew, Nathanael, an "electric" guitar. I was stumped as to what to get him. Well, I took him to Walmart one day like a month before Christmas. For something fun for him, we went down the toy aisles. The only toy he wanted to play with was the guitar. He loves watching all the musicians in the praise band at church. I figured, hey, the price was good, $10 for a black electric guitar with strings, that also played pre-recorded music when you pressed the frets. So, later on, I went back and purchased it. Well, the day we exchanged presents was a thrill. Nathanael had the biggest smile on his face and he played it ...ALL day! We even had a hard time getting him to open the rest of his presents. I was like, nice, he likes it. Guess what? He still plays it...regularly! Since he received it, he often plays up with our praise band on Sundays, now almost 3, rocking away...but reverently, imitating the other guitarists. It has been a year. The guitar no longer plays the pre-recorded stuff. There is a clunk inside it when you shake it because the music box is loose or something inside. Yet, it's still a prized possession. He plays on his own now! He doesn't need that pre-recorded stuff.
Wow, the thoughts I have on this just swirl. I love Christmas for more than the presents, but they are a meaningful part to me. I love Christmas because I love Christ! His birth is such an important part of His life. Ok, I know that sounds silly, but really! We couldn't be anywhere without our birth. Yes, His life was so much more than being a sweet little baby (and I do wonder what his cry was like...being Jesus and all, it couldn't have been the crazy cry I hear around here most days), but that's where our salvation stories begin! God chose for His Son to come as a baby! Our salvation, the forgiveness of our sins came through God's gift of His son, first as a baby, who then grew and paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins! What hope and joy in that gift! Yes, God is into gift giving! That's why I love giving gifts! No, He is not Santa Claus, He is our Creator, the Author of our lives, our Savior. James 1:17 says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." Of course, His greatest gift is His son, Jesus. The verse so often used and memorized so quickly..in lots of things and places, let's not lose what it is really saying: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 He gave us His Son. It was not because we deserved Him...no way! Salvation is His gift to us because He, the Creator of the universe, loves us. Wow. Wow. Wow.
I don't know that any of the gifts I purchased this year will be such a hit as the guitar was last year (and still is) for my nephew, but that's ok. The gifts are meant to bring joy and bless, but not to outshine the Greatest Gift. So yes, I do hope Stevie is already catching on to my joy of Christmas...my joy of the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. I hope he catches it and catches it tightly to grow in his own relationship with Christ and to share the Hope and Joy with others.
There's still more to come...
To Go Back to Part 1
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