Thanksgiving is over, and that means the Christmas season is officially here. That also means that it’s time for Christmas lists to start appearing. At church last night, my five-year-old granddaughter, Ava, came rushing in before the service with a catalog clutched in her hands, “Grandmama, I’ll show you what I want for Christmas!”
After a few minutes of flipping through the pages with “I want that…and that…and that …” I laughed and told her it would probably be easier if she just showed me what she didn’t want.
The moment with the catalogue brought back memories of when her daddy and his brothers were still little guys. Our family usually took a long road trip to Disney World at the end of October, and I discovered that if I’d give each of them a copy of a Christmas toy catalogue, it would keep them busy for hours as they looked through it, pondered and then circled what they wanted for Christmas.
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Ava’s daddy (our youngest son, Jason) was king of the list-making, and I still chuckle as I remember his Christmas lists with colored graphics and items ranked in the order of what he wanted most—complete with prices, stores that carried the items, colors and sizes, UPC codes and comments.
I laughed out loud last year when I got his Christmas wish list. Some things don’t change, except for the fact that now he wants big boy toys like parts for the jeep he’s rebuilding, tools, hunting and fishing stuff. He also included grown-up ideas like dress clothes, shoes and Bible commentaries.
Even though he’s a daddy himself now, the items were still ranked and detailed and came complete with links to online sites, stores where I could find the items and comments that would help me make sure I got the right thing. I love that my children still tell me what they really want, what will make them happy.
I enjoyed looking through the catalogue with Ava last night, watching her sweet face as she showed me various items. And you know what? If I had the funds, I’d love to buy everything on my family’s wish lists—because it makes me happy to make them happy.
God is the same way with us. But sometimes we hesitate about asking Him for things that we want or need. We forget that He finds pleasure in bringing joy to His children, He delights in giving us the desires of our hearts—especially when they are things that will help us serve Him better.
And I suspect that sometimes He might chuckle a bit when He sees the detailed lists I send Him—because I have a feeling that Jason and Ava got their list-making skills from me.
