The Greatest Gift of All

So I have a friend who is going through a really tough time. She is struggling with some health issues and is discouraged because she simply physically can't do the things she wants and should be able to do. She and her family have just bought their first home, and she wants to be doing so many things to make it theirs. But she just can't...

Last night as I lay awake in bed to the sounds of a screaming child with an earache, I began praying. "Lord, please ease Em's discomfort so that we can all get to sleep!" I prayed. Then my thoughts turned to this friend. I had sent her an e-mail yesterday telling her that I would pray for her to be encouraged in the midst of her trials. In my e-mail I also reminded her that God loves her and has a plan for her.

As I lay there, I prayed, "God please do a miracle in her life. Bring healing to her so that she will see how much you love her." Immediately I felt God say to me, "I've already done something to show her how much I love her, and it was really big! This big..." and I envisioned Jesus spreading his arms out wide on a cross.

Talk about humbling! My tiny brain was praying for something physical to be done, and God reminded me that the physical is just temporary. He has plans that are eternal. And isn't that what today is all about--celebrating that Emmanuel lived, died, and then rose from the dead? God loved us so much that He sent His only son--royalty as He was--to be born to a poor carpenter in a stable; to live on a filthy, sinful earth; to die a sinner's death in the most horrible way imaginable; as a substitute for us...

He loved us this much...