Celebrating the True Meaning of Christmas in Our Hearts

Hello Friends,

It seems so long ago, but the memory is as vivid as yesterday. I was a fifth grader and my teacher was Miss Bernsdorf. She was a frail-looking woman much older than my mother and sometimes a real grouch. I had wondered many times if there had ever been any one in her life that had loved her. Not that she was homely or anything like that, just that she was such a stickler for so many things that seemed inconsequential to a fifth grader—like wearing a coat outside and something on your head in a very bitter cold Kansas wind. Such a bother to worry about such something so insignificant, even in below zero temps, I thought.

On the first day of December she announced that she was going to be having a cursive penmanship competition. It sounded very interesting to me as I had always worked hard on my penmanship. It was something I knew I could do well.

If I were to describe myself when I was young, I would have probably used these three words—Dumb, fat, and ugly. I was always the last to be chosen in any game as I was not known for my athleticism. So now was a chance for me to do something I believed I could do well.

So as she told us the assignment, I took the whole competition VERY seriously. I can even remember how the page looked before I handed it in.

And just the other day I heard the poem we were to write in a song. The words all came back to me in a nanosecond. As I heard the words my thoughts took me back to the time I was trying so painstakingly to write the words, hopefully, almost flawlessly. There was no room for a needless mistake as I wanted to win that competition more than anything I had ever done.

But what I learned from the competition, was not that I had the best penmanship in the class. I had hardly thought about it for about 60 years. However, what I learned was the meaning of the words as I thought of them throughout my life.

“What can I give Him
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd,
I would bring a lamb.
If I were a wiseman,
I would do my part,
What can I give Him,
I’ll give Him my heart.”
Christina Rossetti

As the Christmas season is upon us, I can’t help but think about my heart and how He has changed it over the years. He has blessed me with the sweetest blessings. Most came to me seemingly like a mystery of how God was going to use them in my life. But His plan for my life was to have the words of this poem become a part of my life and my Christmas celebration.

By the way, I did win that competition. Really in many ways. I can still see the poem hanging on the bulletin board with a blue order around it. I can remember seeing my name at the bottom of the page. I remember how great it felt at the time to finally win in something.

I know God used that poem throughout my life, not only as a contest that I won, but he started working in my life at that young age to draw me to Himself.

And isn’t that what Christmas is really all about? So as we have fun with Santa and all his elves, I look forward to celebrating the true meaning of Christmas in my heart.

And may you have the merriest of Christmases—in your heart.❤️ And may we all know God’s unconditional love.

We look forward to a new year of blessings as we trust God to give us great decorating ideas and a mountain of fabulous products. We’ll keep you all updated.

I love you all!

Merry Christmas,
Debbie