Grace
Not Greed
By
Raquel Martina Martinez
“May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.”
Jude 1:2 (NSRV)
The winter of 1991 found me in the
middle of a messy divorce. I struggled
to pay a four-digit mortgage and to feed and clothe three growing adolescents
on a teacher’s salary.
On previous
Christmases, our letters to Santa had been long and expensive lists of toys and
electronics, but this year we would have to find a different way to “make
merry.”
I
tried to explain our situation to the kids, but they stopped me mid-apology
with an announcement of their own.
“We
don’t want anything for Christmas.” They explained they already had everything
they needed – we had each other, a roof over our heads and a safe place at
night, food to eat (even if it was way too many servings of boxed mac and
cheese or ramen noodles), and they had me.
They knew I wasn’t going to abandon them.
Grace
replaced greed in our letters to Santa that year.
Our
Nativity set dwarfed the centerpiece-sized Christmas tree. Three small store bought presents lay next to
a mound of homemade gifts, but the best present of all sat on the carpet next
to me – my three wise children, smiles on their faces, drinking hot chocolate
and singing carols.
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for the love and comfort
of family.
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