Focused Perspective

I made cinnamon rolls today...loads and loads of cinnamon rolls. My feet and back hurt, but oh my gooey goodness the rolls are delish! While I was rolling out dough, adding copious amounts of butter and sugar, and making cinnamon deliciousness, the girls were napping. I personally love naptime. Calm comes back to the house and I can let my mind wander and think about things that are un-child related if I wish. Since it's Christmastime, I've been reading through the Christmas story and each time I read it, I am struck by something "new". Here's what hit a chord this time around...

When Herod figured out the wisemen weren't coming to tell him where Jesus was, he sent out his soldiers and they killed every child 2 years and under in the area Jesus would've been living at that time. I find it interesting that the writer records how the mothers responded...they cried out, they wouldn't be comforted. As a mom of a 2-year-old, that brought me to tears...and is again at this moment. To think of my Audrey taken from me because of the selfish desires of someone else to rid the known world of another king...it's unthinkable. Yet hundreds of mothers lost their children for this very reason. I'm guessing they were all Jewish, and had all heard of the Promised One coming. Did any of them realize that in losing their child, they were gaining a King? Would that bring comfort to know the Messiah, their long awaited Emmanuel had come? In my own heart, I would've battled wanting the immediate joy...my child...versus the big picture...knowing that the Deliverer was here and would reunite us. Could I put aside my immediate gratification (per se), for the knowledge that the Saviour had come and with Him, the message of eternal hope for all? Ouch.

I want to say "Yes". Yes, of course I would give up my child - willingly - so that others could come to know the Jesus I know, to hear of eternal life, to live life with hope that is unexplainable. How utterly unselfish of me. I can't though...I can't say that. There is only one who gave His only child so we could have life. God the Father. I can't compare my sense of parenthood to His...Ha! Laughable. He is LOVE. I have so much to learn.

What bigger picture should I be focusing on this Christmas season? What instant gratification is getting my attention instead? My girls don't have new Christmas dresses...and I feel really badly about this. They won't have a pretty, new, frilly dress to wear on Christmas morning to church. But, wait...what? Yes, dresses...that's what it all cumulated to in my mind as I rolled cinnamon rolls. Here's the thing: They will most likely not remember what dress they wore, or that I went to store after store looking for a 2T & 5 that coordinated...but not matched ;o) But I think they'll remember if I took time to be with them, played with them, read to them, discussed the true meaning of Christmas, loved on them, if I was patient in my responses, excited to share the true joy of this season. That's the big picture. The fact that they'll be wearing the same dresses they did last week at their program will mean nothing to them in 10 years...or 10 minutes. How does the true meaning of Christmas get lost? Even on those of us who desire to keep the focus on Christ and His unselfish gift of love? I lose perspective so easily...I should focus on THAT more often.