“…how much more will your Father in heaven give good fits to those who ask Him!” Matthew 7:11b

My mom retired from working outside the home to working inside the home as the primary caregiver for Sylvia when Sylvia was almost 2 years old. Let’s be honest, she was my primary caregiver as well! Part of what she LOVED doing was shopping for presents. My mom was one of those people who bought Christmas presents all year long so under out tree it always looked crazy full and like she was a millionaire! The reality was, she was a great shopper and she purchased wisely all year.

My mom passed away a few weeks before Christmas in 2008. Among the plethora of responsibilities I had to now take on, shopping for Christmas presents was at the top of my list that year. The most immediate challenge was that we were having a ridiculous winter storm before Christmas in 2008 and I was unable to leave the house to shop. The other challenge was the overwhelming storm in my mind and heart that also left me unable to leave the house. I remember lying in bed trying to figure out how on earth I was going to tell Sylvia, who was 7 years old at the time, that we didn’t have any presents. I had no coping mechanisms left to figure out a solution.

I was already mad at God for taking my mom so I’m not really sure I “asked” Him for help or, more likely, I said something like, “Thanks God, now I’ve got no gifts for my kid! Nice job.” God was fully able to take my anger and still love me in a way that I didn’t see coming and wouldn’t have imagined if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.

Back then, I was an avid poker play and I had converted our dining room into a poker room. To make room from Christmas decorations, we had pushed the poker table up against the wall and covered it with a table-cloth that reach the floor so you couldn’t see under the table.

One day, as I was walking through the dining/poker room, something caught my attention under the table. I bent over to see what it was and I lifted up the table-cloth. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Under this large poker table was stacks of wrapped presents. Yes, you read that right, STACKS OF WRAPPED PRESENTS! My mom didn’t know she wasn’t going to be alive for this particular Christmas but God did and He had prompted her to wrap every single present and hide them all under this table. I sat down on the floor and I bawled. God provided for me and Sylvia when I was so angry that by all rights, He should have just let us suffer through with no presents. But God, in His crazy infinite love, caught my attention and showed me that there was a full Christmas tree of gifts waiting for me one more time.

I don’t know what you’re going through this holiday season but I do know God. I know that no matter how you feel about Him, He only feels love for you. I needed a miracle that year and He supplied it beyond my wildest dreams. I believe He’s going to supply your miracle this year because of Him and His love, not because of anything you need to do. Pay attention for the thing that will catch your eye, then lift up the cloth and see how God is providing.

Merry Christmas,

KA