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As we celebrate Christmas the Lord brought to remembrance my childhood in Nicaragua.
While I had a roof over my head, food and a bed to sleep in. I did not have hot water; I did not have new things often, in fact, I was only able to wear new clothes for my birthday and Christmas (sometimes). I only ate meat on Sundays if my mom was able to afford to buy it. During Christmas, my mom would cook stuffed chicken, the stuffing were potatoes and other veggies.
During Christmas, my neighborhood friends and I would practice in our backyard singing Christmas Carols; we would find homes that had a nativity set and head out on Christmas Eve to sing. We would make our tambourines out of bottle caps, smashed them until they were flat, put a hole in the middle then put them all through a thick wire that we would hold in our hands, and those were our tambourines. We dressed as shepherds with as much or little that we could find at our homes. These were very special memories that I hold dear to my heart.
As I reflect on these memories, I think how far the lord had brought me. When I was a child, I had no idea where I would end up in life, what I would eat or wear. That is how the lord wants to be as a child, trusting Him with all. We do not need to dwell on what we cannot control. Yet I know we might still do.
Matthew 6:25 reminds us - Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes?
How would you know this if no one ever told you? We have to seek Him, listen, read the bible, and listen some more. Romans 10:17 says – So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. Our faith will increase when certain revelations of His word are being explained to us by the servants He has called to be teachers, pastors, prophets, apostles.
Have you reflected lately on what the Lord has done for you from your childhood to now? Not going too far, think about this year 2023, what did you fail to accomplish or what did you start and were able to finish? We will realize that certain things we never did on our own. Did you give Him the credit that He is due, did you acknowledge Him for taking you out of that situation alive, safe, hopeful and fruitful?
Let’s pray: Father God, thank you for where you brought us out of. Thank you for this Christmas that we get to build new memories with our loved ones, remind us that is not about physical gifts but about the gift you gave us in Jesus. We want to get closer to you and understand you a little bit more each day. We bless your Holy name; we give you all the glory and the honor. In the name of Jesus, we pray.
For to us is born unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6