As we start counting down the days until Christmas, I have thought a lot about needs and wants. Every year I am struck by how much money and emphasis people put on “things.” I am guilty of it myself at times too, I know. But I think back to last Christmas and an encounter that I had with my friends 2 girls from Haiti who were having their first American Christmas. I was at their house and got to see all of their toys and surprises that Santa had brought them. But Naika pulled me into the bathroom and pulled 2 toothbrushes out of the holder. She said with a lot of excitement, “Tia and I each got a new toothbrush!” It is a memory that will stick with me forever. Even in the midst of getting new video games and dolls and toys and clothes, she was thankful and excited to get a new toothbrush – her OWN toothbrush. But to get a little deep here, there was so much more behind what she was expressing. She had been given a new start at life. She will have opportunities, hope, and chances here she would never have had in Haiti. My perspective is SO different now on Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
No matter what the advertisers say, it’s not about how much money you spend (or save) and how many “things” you get. At the end of the day – they are just that – THINGS. No eternal value. Likely not even something really life-changing. It may make us happy for a few days, weeks, or months, but one day, those things will break. The batteries will die. The clothes won’t fit. The new will wear off. Newer updated versions will come out in 6 months and make today’s technology obsolete. THINGS change. The only thing that doesn’t change is God’s promise to us…plans to prosper and not to harm….plans to give you a hope and a future.
Don’t get me wrong – on Christmas, there will be gifts exchanged in my family - more than any of us could ever need. We will laugh and probably cry some as we share the gifts we bought each other. But for me, the best gift I have this year is the new perspective on God’s plans for my life. I am dying with anticipation for this baby that He has promised me! I have been so blown away with what He has done in my life in the last 6 months. I cannot imagine what the rest of the journey to this child will be like. I have a feeling that the Carly that I am today is nowhere near the Carly I will be at the end. And that is exciting. My prayer for Christmas this year for myself and everyone I love is that we will see each gift as a treasure – no matter what it is. Who knew that a new toothbrush could be like gold? We are so blessed. Even in the hard times. Even on the bad days. Even in the valleys. Because He has given us the best gift of all – a hope and a future.
