The Present

Remember when you were a kid? Was Christmas the most magical of all holidays for you? It surely was for me! My whole entire kid year revolved around Christmas…like the quote from the movie Christmas Story says.

I never got presents during the year; my birthday and Christmas were the only times of hope for me to have some excitement. And the kind of birthday gifts I got were not ones that would thrill the heart of a little girl with big dreams of fun - yes, socks and soap were among them. So, the promise of Christmas was the bonanza at the end of the year. Whatever fun gifts I got were always reserved for Christmas.

My list was always long. I began making it the day that TV shows featuring toys started in early November on Wednesday afternoons. That was when the biggest store in Panama would put together a one hour-long commercial demonstrating the latest toys on screen to make every kid in the country drool. I remember thinking how lucky those kids in the show were because they got to play with the most exciting toys of the season every week.

I knew I would not get everything I wanted, but it was more about the distant hope that Christmas brought to my heart year after year than about the actual presents. It was like a promise of great things to come wrapped in colorful paper and ribbons under an old silver tree.

Now that I have children of my own and see them making their list as soon as the first Christmas flyer reaches our house from the toy store, I’m reminded of those days when I was a little child. My own heart beats with joy just thinking about the hope that Christmas still brings. Not so much for the hope of material things but the anticipation of a renewing of my faith and a transformation of my mind.

That is why today, even though in different terms, I still think of Christmas as a present...the present of His presence...

This year, more than ever, I long for that Present...I  trust I will find it as I quiet my soul in the midst of the Christmas noise and focus my eyes on Christ. It is a season to celebrate His birth into flesh and His decision to move closer to us as He walked on this earth, a decision that transformed it all as He continues to be in us - Our Great Emmanuel.

Linking with Little R and R and Whole Hearted Home