“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13
With the holiday’s approaching I have been reflecting upon my childhood more and more. I grew up with little; I wore a lot of goodwill clothes, there were many days I brought a homemade lunch to school on pizza day because we did not have $2 to spare, a lot of my gifts were from the Dollar Store, and one Christmas in particular I remember people from the Salvation Army coming into our home with armfuls of gifts for me; a pair of skates, a snowsuit, etc., because we didn’t have money to buy presents ourselves.
Growing up I never felt like I went without, I didn’t feeL poor, and I never felt unloved. It wasn’t until I grew up when I began to realize the sacrifices my mother made. It wasn’t until I was a little older until I realized my mother worked so hard for the little bit we had.
Now I realize it was a sacrifice to buy me a box of crayons. Now I realize when she took me to McDonald’s for a Happy Meal that she was hungry when she told me, “Mommy doesn’t want to eat anything right now,” because she would not spend money on herself.
To every mother, grandmother, spiritual mother and woman reading this, you have the power to influence those around you just by loving them.
You can teach people about the value their lives are worth, regardless of their life’s situations.
As we approach Thanksgiving and Christmas, the greatest gift you can give people isn’t material things, it is your love and the love of God. More than anyone, Jesus scarified everything to show how much He loves you. In return, let us show Him our love.
Prayer: Lord, I want to obey the two greatest commandments. I want to love You and love my neighbor. During the holidays, I pray that you would help bring my family closer together and help me see beyond myself to those who are in need. Thank you for the ultimate sacrifice You gave, I am eternally thankful.
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