An Abundant Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you have had a great day spending time with family and enjoying one another's company. Every Christmas I marvel at just how blessed so many of us are in the United States. I started thinking as I was carving up our 12 pound turkey, (for just the 3 of us in my family), just how blessed I am. FYI: I am a terrible turkey carver and there was a lot of meat left on that bird. As I looked at how much meat I had already taken off and how much was left, my mind went to, Lillian, the little girl that we sponsor in Uganda, through Compassion. I wondered what her Christmas was like today. Did she have a meal like I did: turkey, potatoes,corn stuffing, bread, pie, cookies, etc.  I began to imagine what millions of hungry people around this world would think if they saw how much abundance I had, and how much turkey I was simply throwing out. I thought of all the gifts we had just unwrapped and all of the gifts that we had purchased for others, and once again I was amazed at how rich we are compared to so many others in this world. 

I mention this not to create a feeling of guilt in you on Christmas, but to remind you to be thankful for the gifts that God has given us: salvation through Christ, food, warm homes, clothes, family, safety, transportation, breath in our lungs, etc. When I gave Shelby her gifts this morning my intention was not for her to feel guilty but to feel grateful. When God has blessed us with so many wonderful things in our life He has done so not so that we would feel guilty but grateful. And out of this blessing of abundance comes a responsibility to manage what we have well, and not to be selfish but to reflect the image of our Heavenly Father and to be givers. 2 Cor. 9-10-12  Prov. 22:9