The Greatest Gift

In 1947 I was eight years old. My dad was just out of the army, broke but rejoicing that the war was over. We lived in an old house on a grown up farm. Dad had bought the 89 acres for about $1,800 which he borrowed from the bank. He and mom were facing Christmas broke. A time for giving and they had nothing to give. Of all my seventy-one years of Christmases, that one stands above all others. My brother and I were kept from going in one room of the old house so we knew something was up. Turns out our dad was hand making toys--a wagon and two wooden trucks, painted with red paint. We pushed those red trucks for miles in Mr. Vales corn field which was just across our property line. Christmas is about giving and a giving heart always finds a way. That Christmas my dad gave himself, which reminds me that our Heavenly Father found a way to bring joy to the world by giving His Son, Jesus. The greatest gift the world has ever known was not found under a tree but on a tree. Through the cross we find forgiveness and restoration so one day we can go Home.
(Luke 2:10-11) Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (NKJV)