This year I had the most incredible Christmas that I have ever experienced in my 35 years. It started with a spectacular Christmas Eve service. My kids and I have recently been visiting a wonderful non-denominational church in Raleigh. It has been life changing for not only me, but for the kids as well. It has been exciting as God has moved in our home as well as our lives and it has come at such a crucial time. It is truly a God thing.
ANYWAY... Friday evening we headed into Raleigh with moaning and groaning from the twelve year old. He was none too happy that he had to go to church on Friday night. The whole trip in, he pouted and huffed. It was so incredibly pleasant. As we walked into the building, he was told by an older woman (this I found out once we were in the car headed home) to smile because it was Christmas. We entered the worship center and made our way over to our normal seats. There was something different about the feel of the room. I have attended MANY Christmas Eve services in my lifetime so I was ready for the traditional Christmas carols and the lit candles with a chorus of Silent Night. Suddenly the room went dark and music filled the air. On the screen in front of us were sketch drawings of the Christmas story 1as the band was playing O Come O Come Emmanuel. My eyes welled up with tears as I watched the story unfold in such a simple yet beautiful way. After the beautiful violins and voices subsided, a man stepped forward; welcoming the crowd gathered and the party began.
For me, I have always felt that Christmas should be a party. It is the day we celebrate the birth of Christ. We do not get all solemn and quiet when we celebrate our own birthdays so why in the world do we go that route for the King of Kings? Well this year, that is what I got, a service of praise. It was AMAZING!! People were singing at the top of their lungs and REJOICING at the most amazing gift this world has EVER received. I have NEVER experienced anything like it! It was an incredibly special service filled with praise for the King of All Kings! I have never experienced the presence of God like the way I did that night. I have never felt it so strong. The cool part was that my kids felt it too and they were excited. For me, that is what it should be. I know that is not for everyone but for me, it was just where God wanted me to be that night.
Christmas morning came at a decent hour, and only a few gifts were opened. We had a small breakfast and got ready. We were making a special trip down town to feed and pass out warm clothing to the 1needy. Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE to take care of people. I love to spend my holidays having people who are alone into my home to eat and make them feel loved1. I love to serve other people and have ALWAYS wanted the opportunity to spend my Christmas taking care of someone other than myself and this year it happened. We headed down town to Share our Shoes where breakfast was served and shoes along with warm clothes were handed out. It was such an amazing blessing. I watched as my twelve and nine year old sat down with small kids and helped them to find shoes that fit. I watched as they took in how many spend their Christmas alone, with no presents1 and without food. It was such an eye opening experience for them both and I think they were just as blessed as I was from the experience. I was ecstatic when they both said that they wanted to do that again soon. More than anything, I want to serve and minister to others with my children. I have never enjoyed Christmas as much as I did this year. We eventually got around to opening presents once the other three of my children were home, but it was not as big of a deal, as it had been in the past. This Christmas was spent sharing the gift of God's love with those who needed to be loved and it filled a huge empty place in my heart.
This year has been a pretty rough year, but God has been so faithful and provided for us in ways that I would have never expected and I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to share and bless someone else the way in which I have been blessed.
Some pics from Share our Shoes event
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