The Ribbon Wrapped Miracle
We have this one Christmas tradition, the kids and I.
We read this book, An Orange For Frankie.
It is a small thing, this little tradition.
The three year old, he says,"Here comes the train. Toot, toot!"
Because in the story, there is a family with a bunch of kids, and they have a train, that runs right through their back yard.
I can't imagine what that would be like, bunch of kids, train in your yard.
Oh, wait, I can. And here it comes, rumbling like a freight train, and it is one, in my backyard.
And this family, they do this amazing thing.
They feed the homeless folks who ride this train as it stops by their backyard.
And in the story, this one morning near Christmas, the youngest boy, Frankie, he gives a homeless man who doesn't have a shirt on his back in the middle of this Michigan snow, his best sweater. His Christmas sweater. The one his sister made him.
And the man, he is thankful.
But Frankie, he finds out that his sister made him a matching muffler to go with the sweater for Christmas this year and if he doesn't wear it he'll let them all down. Because it's not like he has a ton of sweaters, he just has that one. Frankie's family, they're not well off. They barely have enough. But they do have enough and what they have, they share with those who have less. And could they chose to keep it all for themselves, sure, but they don't, they just trust God, and give and there is always enough.
The only gifts that Frankie's family gets for Christmas are oranges.
Oranges from Florida that come by train, and Frankie's dad risks life and limb to travel in a snowstorm to get them.
Hid dad arrives just in time for Christmas Eve and the gift-oranges are placed on the mantle. But Frankie takes his, just savoring the citrus scent. He puts it in his pocket as the family hurries off to the Christmas pageant. But on the way home, he loses the orange. He loses his only Christmas gift.
He is heartbroken because he has let everyone down. He tells his Mama about the orange and the sweater and she is quiet and tells him that it is OK and she will call him when it is time for dinner.
And as he comes down stairs he is greeted by all his brothers and sisters who have each taken a piece out of their orange and tied them together with a ribbon to make an orange for Frankie.
And here, in this house full of kids, with the train running out back, we too have a gift to give to the One who first gave for us, a piece of just us.
We give a morning down at the mission boxing food for the hungry.
We give fudge treats to neighbors and messages of love on paper.
We give a homeless family a Christmas.
And just this afternoon, in the hurry to get one last gift for that family who has so much less than us, I prayed a prayer for a tiny miracle.
The teenage daughter wanted a snuggie. And I didn't have time to run all over looking for one and we were delivering the gifts tonight. And I didn't have much to spend, so I prayed, "Lord, please let me find a snuggie, for about 10 bucks at our little food market, please." This little market pretty much only carries food but occasionally has other household items, so this was really a stretch of faith. I get the sugar and marshmallows I need for the fudge and I head to the check out when I realize, I didn't even look for the snuggie.
I prayed and didn't even look for the answer.
I walk to that one small isle that has the random household goods. There it is. A snuggie. And the price reads $9.99.
A Christmas miracle of grace.
A miracle for me to remember and believe and trust.
To remember that God is there to catch us when we take the small steps of faith and the big ones.
To remember that Christmas, it really is about giving.
That He gave it all, He gave up heaven to come down to this sin-scarred placed to dwell with us. To dwell in our hearts, to bring us back to Him.
And when we just believe, just put our trust in Jesus, He never fails.
He takes all our pieces and wraps them up in ribbon and makes beauty out of all our broken.
He takes our giving-gift, our small nothing, and makes it miracle for others.
He takes just us and makes us a gift poured out with His name on the tag :
From: Jesus
And He makes all our gifts, from Him alone, for, He says, "Everything is to Him, and through Him and for Him."
It's all from Him, and it's all for Him.
O, come let us adore Him.
We read this book, An Orange For Frankie.
It is a small thing, this little tradition.
The three year old, he says,"Here comes the train. Toot, toot!"
Because in the story, there is a family with a bunch of kids, and they have a train, that runs right through their back yard.
I can't imagine what that would be like, bunch of kids, train in your yard.
Oh, wait, I can. And here it comes, rumbling like a freight train, and it is one, in my backyard.
And this family, they do this amazing thing.
They feed the homeless folks who ride this train as it stops by their backyard.
And in the story, this one morning near Christmas, the youngest boy, Frankie, he gives a homeless man who doesn't have a shirt on his back in the middle of this Michigan snow, his best sweater. His Christmas sweater. The one his sister made him.
And the man, he is thankful.
But Frankie, he finds out that his sister made him a matching muffler to go with the sweater for Christmas this year and if he doesn't wear it he'll let them all down. Because it's not like he has a ton of sweaters, he just has that one. Frankie's family, they're not well off. They barely have enough. But they do have enough and what they have, they share with those who have less. And could they chose to keep it all for themselves, sure, but they don't, they just trust God, and give and there is always enough.
The only gifts that Frankie's family gets for Christmas are oranges.
Oranges from Florida that come by train, and Frankie's dad risks life and limb to travel in a snowstorm to get them.
Hid dad arrives just in time for Christmas Eve and the gift-oranges are placed on the mantle. But Frankie takes his, just savoring the citrus scent. He puts it in his pocket as the family hurries off to the Christmas pageant. But on the way home, he loses the orange. He loses his only Christmas gift.
He is heartbroken because he has let everyone down. He tells his Mama about the orange and the sweater and she is quiet and tells him that it is OK and she will call him when it is time for dinner.
And as he comes down stairs he is greeted by all his brothers and sisters who have each taken a piece out of their orange and tied them together with a ribbon to make an orange for Frankie.
And here, in this house full of kids, with the train running out back, we too have a gift to give to the One who first gave for us, a piece of just us.
We give a morning down at the mission boxing food for the hungry.
We give fudge treats to neighbors and messages of love on paper.
We give a homeless family a Christmas.
And just this afternoon, in the hurry to get one last gift for that family who has so much less than us, I prayed a prayer for a tiny miracle.
The teenage daughter wanted a snuggie. And I didn't have time to run all over looking for one and we were delivering the gifts tonight. And I didn't have much to spend, so I prayed, "Lord, please let me find a snuggie, for about 10 bucks at our little food market, please." This little market pretty much only carries food but occasionally has other household items, so this was really a stretch of faith. I get the sugar and marshmallows I need for the fudge and I head to the check out when I realize, I didn't even look for the snuggie.
I prayed and didn't even look for the answer.
I walk to that one small isle that has the random household goods. There it is. A snuggie. And the price reads $9.99.
A Christmas miracle of grace.
A miracle for me to remember and believe and trust.
To remember that God is there to catch us when we take the small steps of faith and the big ones.
To remember that Christmas, it really is about giving.
That He gave it all, He gave up heaven to come down to this sin-scarred placed to dwell with us. To dwell in our hearts, to bring us back to Him.
And when we just believe, just put our trust in Jesus, He never fails.
He takes all our pieces and wraps them up in ribbon and makes beauty out of all our broken.
He takes our giving-gift, our small nothing, and makes it miracle for others.
He takes just us and makes us a gift poured out with His name on the tag :
From: Jesus
And He makes all our gifts, from Him alone, for, He says, "Everything is to Him, and through Him and for Him."
It's all from Him, and it's all for Him.
O, come let us adore Him.
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