The List

Christmas growing up was all about the list. The list I made was split between parents, Santa and the grandparents. The end result: everything I asked for I received.

About the age of 10, I had grown tired of the process. I was content with what I had, yet there was pressure to choose something. As I looked through the ads my mom had laid on the table, I said the first thing I saw… “I want a TV for my room,” I announced. “This year I’ll ask Santa for a color TV for my room.” This was in the day that electronics were not cheap or in every room of the house, so for me to ask of such a thing at my age seemed beyond ridiculous.

The anticipation of Christmas morning arrived as I lay in bed fully awake at 6:30am. We were not allowed out of our beds until 7am so I imagined of the treasures that awaited me downstairs. Maybe new Barbies or pretty new clothes? For a brief moment that color TV came to mind and I laughed, not still surprised that I had asked for such a thing.

At seven am my brother and I opened our parents’ door, announcing the arrival of Christmas and raced downstairs to check out our presents. I froze at the sight of a tiny TV with a red bow on it. I didn’t know what to say, although “thank you” came out when my mom asked if I liked it. I never imagined I would actually get it. Yet there it was, a color TV, with a small picture frame size screen, just for me.

The Bible reminds us that God loves us more than our earthly parents and how He desires to give us good things. Nothing is impossible with God. Perhaps He’s just waiting for you to ask Him for that outlandish gift. Though you can’t figure out a way, He can. Three years ago my plea was to stay home with our children. The mountain was huge and I had no idea how God would move it, but He has. Now we have a new list: a Christian coffee shop for Jeff to run and my book to be published. They seemed like crazy dreams, but we know everything we ask for according to His will, we will receive. So, make your list, check it twice and give it to the Father that loves you beyond your comprehension.

Matthew 7:7-11
7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”