“Delight yourself in the Lord,
and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
Psalms 37:4
When I was a little girl, the presents under our tree were a magnet on Christmas Eve. Days of detective work and wishful thinking built my anticipation to a frenzy. Each package with my name on it was endlessly shaken, weighed and prodded for clues. As a child of the first TV generation, Madison Avenue advertisers carefully filled my head with visions of their Must-Have toy. I always looked for “it” in all the wrapped packages under the tree.
Luckily for me, my parents knew me better than New York’s advertising guru’s. While Mom and Dad sometimes indulged me with a sought-after toy, they knew how to really thrill me with gifts I didn’t even know I wanted, but still remember to this day: The super-sized paint box with 100 shades of watercolors, my own roll of scotch tape, Silly Putty, plastic dress-up wigs, The Bobbsey Twins mystery books… These were the gifts that got the glory. If my parents had only given me what I thought I wanted, I would have missed out on some of the greatest joys of my childhood.
This Christmas and every day of our lives, God wants to give us the best life possible. Like a loving parent, He knows us better than we know ourselves. While we may ask Him for one blessing, He knows what will really bring us the greatest joy and growth. Our faith is built when we trust God to satisfy our hearts, not just to satisfy our heads. He can be trusted to give us more than the perfect gifts, but also the right desires.
Prayer for Christmas Eve: Father, in this season of gifts, I ask You to give me faith in Your plan for my life. Place Your desires in my heart, so I may live a life filled with your power and joy.
Allyson Terry Schoenlein
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