67%
December 7
My computer battery says it is 67% full. Looking at that figure I immediately thought, I am maybe 67% ready for the week of Christmas celebration which is about to occur at our home. The awaiting wrapping, decorating, baking and pantry stocking had me a bit frantic this morning and that was topped off by a request of one of our sons to have his wisdom teeth out while he is here! Add to that my grand idea of everyone making something homemade and me personally selecting a project which at this point to complete would require a staff of elves and I am on overload! What am I doing? I need to stop and give Jesus 100% of my attention right now!
Before my eyes opened this morning I began to pray for my sweet sister in Christ who is headed to Duke today for her chemo treatment. After that I prayed for another friend who is grieving deeply over the loss of his father this past week. Two friends will most likely say good-bye to loved ones this week. One a father with Alzheimer's and the other a sister with a brain tumor. Suddenly the urgency of the other "stuff" wained away. This godtube video I received last night made me focus on the needs of others.
This morning as I think about this precious video I realized the joy that comes when we see smiles from others as they take delight in the lights, decorations and packages all wrapped up. Helping my in laws pull out their decorations last night I created a memory that will last forever as they found such joy in recollecting where each item had come from. Their memory was better than mine as my mother in law pulled out a Christmas tree cookie jar and said, "Boobie (yes, that is what they call me, so there's your laugh for today), you gave me this cookie jar on my 71st birthday and it had 71 one dollar bills inside". (Wasn't I clever!) While in the city I took time to visit my great niece and bake cookies. I felt a sense of satisfaction knowing that time together had expressed my love to her and created a memory. She made me smile as she said, "Yum,"when the raw dough and baked sugar cookies went in her mouth. Right now I am not smiling as I realized in the hustle, bustle and fun I never mentioned Jesus to her once or prayed over her. Zero percentage of our time together celebrating Christmas was about Christ.
Hmm. The holidays. What percentage of our holidays, or every day for that matter, are holy days where we reflect upon Christ. The world screams at us to take in what we can see. But God's Word directs us elsewhere...into the invisible.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18
Let's pray: Hallelujah! 100% of You, God, is good! 100% of You is watchful and wonderful!
You are the complete package and being all knowing You purposely put together the perfect gift for removing sin from our lives. That gift is Jesus. We can't buy Him. He is 100% free! Forgive us for our forgetfulness and getting our percentages out of whack when it comes to what is important in each day. May we allow the Holy Spirit access to our lives so that Jesus is a percentage of each moment. In our Savior's Name we gratefully pray.
