DECEMBER 2 MY FIRST CHRISTMAS MEMORY By Ken Dady Word of Life, International Coach to Missionaries and Local Church Leaders
Proverbs 3:27 My first real memory of Christmas was when I was four. We woke up one morning, and all these strange people were at our door. Later, I got the rest of the story; our dad was gone. My mom worked as a secretary to keep food on the table and pay the rent. On Christmas Eve, my mother’s co-worker found my mom crying in the ladies’ room, as she did not have enough money to buy her three very young boys Christmas gifts. This co-worker organized with the whole office staff, and on Christmas morning, several men and women knocked at our apartment door. They brought with them a Christmas tree, ornaments which they hung on the tree, and gifts for each one of us boys and for my mom. I got a toy truck! Wow! I was 19 years old when I truly experienced Christmas as a born-again believer. I saw Christmas as more than the beautiful Christmas songs I sang each year and the awesome family gatherings. After 10 years of leading youth and serving in our church as lay leaders, God led our family into full-time ministry. The verse that became my life and ministry verse was Proverbs 3:27: “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so.” I knew God made each of us unique in our abilities, and He wants us to use them to help others! I love Christmastime, as it is the time in which we give physical and emotional presents to those we love. I love seeing our grandchildren open their gifts and then use them, wear them or play with them after all the paper is stuffed away. And, yes, we as a family reflect on the reason for the season in many ways. Our daughter with her family sings Happy Birthday to Jesus on Christmas Day and tries to reflect His story to a neighbor. But what I love even more is “Celebrating Christ” (Christmas) with others by sharing the gospel and seeing children, teens and adults put their trust in Jesus Christ as Savior. . . then helping them grow in Christ, and equipping their leaders and parents to lead them in an intimate relationship with Him. In other words, helping them to “Celebrate Christ” every day. Would you join us in reflecting on Christmas as the starting place of the 33-year earthly journey that led to the shed blood, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, allowing whoever trusts in Him could have an eternal and abundant life with Him? He did not “withhold that good from us!” Let us plan to “Celebrate Christ” by using the abilities God has given us to serve Him in our churches, our neighborhoods, our homes and our workplaces. Let’s make Christmas last all year long!
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