The Beauty of Christmas
“Why did you cry when you saw that boy in the wheelchair today, Mom?”
I had taken my children out to look at the beautiful Christmas decorations on Main Street, and while we were peeking into the storefront windows, one particular family grabbed hold of my attention.
They, too, had gathered together the various members of their family and made their way downtown to stare in wide-eyed wonder at the beauty and magic of Christmas. Yet there was only one person in their group who actually fixed his gaze on the lights and ornaments surrounding him. The young boy – a wheelchair user who apparently had cerebral palsy – beamed at the sight of it all. Everyone else in his family had their eyes glued on him. His grandparents laughed and clapped, his father snapped one photo after another, and his mother… His mother silently wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.
“I cried because I was happy,” I explained. “That little boy and his family were so full of love; it just made my heart happy to the point that I couldn’t hold it in.”
What I saw there at dusk on Main Street was a family choosing joy. People walking by might have wondered what it was that they had to be so happy about. Clearly their lives were full to overflowing with doctor’s appointments and therapy sessions. Their daily routine was unimaginably difficult, no doubt. But in that moment, with Christmas carols playing in the background and the sights of the season all around, they became a striking pictorial of the Good News come alive.
“Don’t be afraid! I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior – yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” –Luke 2:10-11
The magnificence of the moment was not in elaborate decorations or costly gifts on display for purchase. As it was that night by the side of a lowly manger, the miracle was in knowing that our God sees our very real struggles, He hears our desperate cries, and He has sent us an ever present Savior who takes away the sin of the world.
Oh come let us adore Him.
Guest post written by Shauna Amick, Senior Manager of Development at Joni and Friends.
“Why did you cry when you saw that boy in the wheelchair today, Mom?”
I had taken my children out to look at the beautiful Christmas decorations on Main Street, and while we were peeking into the storefront windows, one particular family grabbed hold of my attention.
They, too, had gathered together the various members of their family and made their way downtown to stare in wide-eyed wonder at the beauty and magic of Christmas. Yet there was only one person in their group who actually fixed his gaze on the lights and ornaments surrounding him. The young boy – a wheelchair user who apparently had cerebral palsy – beamed at the sight of it all. Everyone else in his family had their eyes glued on him. His grandparents laughed and clapped, his father snapped one photo after another, and his mother… His mother silently wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.
“I cried because I was happy,” I explained. “That little boy and his family were so full of love; it just made my heart happy to the point that I couldn’t hold it in.”
What I saw there at dusk on Main Street was a family choosing joy. People walking by might have wondered what it was that they had to be so happy about. Clearly their lives were full to overflowing with doctor’s appointments and therapy sessions. Their daily routine was unimaginably difficult, no doubt. But in that moment, with Christmas carols playing in the background and the sights of the season all around, they became a striking pictorial of the Good News come alive.
“Don’t be afraid! I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior – yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” –Luke 2:10-11
The magnificence of the moment was not in elaborate decorations or costly gifts on display for purchase. As it was that night by the side of a lowly manger, the miracle was in knowing that our God sees our very real struggles, He hears our desperate cries, and He has sent us an ever present Savior who takes away the sin of the world.
Oh come let us adore Him.
Guest post written by Shauna Amick, Senior Manager of Development at Joni and Friends.
