"...more than all my things!"

I think Christmas is a highlight of most peoples year, with the fellowship of friends and family, the extra food and festivities, music and merriment life just seems...more alive! It's also a time of extra work and running around, long days and short nights many things sometimes get forgotten with priority being placed on Christmas itself.

The giving and receiving of gifts is also one of the driving forces of the season! Finding that perfect gift for people can be so difficult. My perfect gift this year was the love of a child. On the night of Christmas day while tucking Jade (4) into bed and praying with her for the night I was giving her a hug when out of the blue she says "Daddy, I love you more than all my toys and things!" Nothing will make your heart skip a beat the way a child's love can. It's total and unconditional, a treasure to be cherished.

A few nights later while over at a relatives house I was checking my email while sitting on the floor, being that was the closest network hookup. Jade came running through the room and tripped and fell right onto my laptop screen breaking the LCD display which sent a million little colored lines across the once viewable area. Amazingly all I could do was laugh!

Everyone wanted to see what happened and as each person took a look at the damage comments like "Oh my that's going to be expensive to fix." "Too bad it's no longer under warranty!" and others were being said. When Jade realized what she had done she started crying and I picked her up and hugged her while whispering in her ear, "Don't worry Baby, I love you more then all my things! I am so thankful you didn't get hurt!" She stopped crying and a smile danced on her face...I think at that moment she also felt love as her perfect gift.

So no matter what happens to you this year, what things may come and go in your life, what you might or might not have, just remember that Jesus loves you more than anything. I love you too! Big Hug!