The Best Presence Unwrapped – The Gift That Won’t Fit Under A Tree

We’d walked this same route for years, all too familiar with the scenery. But this morning was different. The ordinarily lush woods was left bare by the winter season, revealing a small trail leading to the creek.

And there he was, tucked between the branches shivering and cold from spending the night in the wooded creek area. Thistle tightly wrapped around his legs, piercing his flesh. His retractable leash finely woven through the nearby trees as a result of trying to find freedom.

With each approaching step, his nervous tension multiplied. Trembling and unsure of my intentions, he turned to run away. But weakened by the elements, injured by the gripping thorns, and filled with fear, he lost his foothold, quickly sinking into the creek’s cold water. While my only desire was to free the helpless pup, the harder I tried to pull him out, the more he wrestled against me. Weak, yet fighting my help.

I can still picture it so well in my mind because, in many ways, this lost dog reflects me. Too often, I have fought His help, deeply desiring freedom yet too entangled and afraid of His approaching hand. I’ve chosen wounds over His free gift of healing. Wrestling to get away from the only One truly able to help.

And as we approach the final days before Christmas, I am fully aware there are many traveling down a less than ‘merry and bright’ trail. Like that pup, yours may be one full of thorns and thistles. For some, the ghost of Christmas past haunts you, leaving you stuck in the grief and regret of a past season. Or maybe for you, the ghost of Christmas present shows you a reality you never thought you’d experience. For many others, the ghost of Christmas future has lined your gift basket with fear and worry, filling it with the anxiety of what’s to come.

So let me ask you, this Christmas, what gift do you need Him to unwrap?

Do you need His calming hand to untangle and silence your racing heart? Peace in the midst of shivering cold peril? Perhaps, joy to blossom in your parched heart? An understanding ear to listen to the unspoken cries of your heart? Or maybe a new perspective of an old infected wound?

Christ traded the warm presence of a heavenly palace for the cold stone of an earthly manger for you. Not just to give you everlasting life but to provide you with hope and peace – NOW. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for you. The road He traveled from the cold cradle to the crushing cross was paved with a promise – a promise of hope amid pain, the fullness of joy in His presence, and compassion from the Creator.

A promise that the current circumstances – the ones that seem overwhelming to bear – won’t last forever. A guarantee that the Lord your God is with you (Emmanuel); He is mighty to save. A promise that He who crowned you with love and compassion also rejoices over you with singing and quiets you with His love. These are the priceless gifts of His presence. So what do you need most this Christmas? His ears are open to your prayers and attentive to your cries.

What if this doesn’t describe you, though? Maybe this year has been a wonderful time full of thrill and excitement? For us, it’s not as much a question of what we need Him to do but what He needs us to do.

And that is to give the gift of Christmas away.

After a brief tug-of-war with Alex, our fifty-pound yellow lab friend, I was able to lift him out of the bitterly cold water and call his owner.

Listening to the shakey tearful voice on the other end, I learned why this poor dog fought so hard to escape my help. He was a 14-month dog rescued from an unimaginably abusive home. That explained the flinch at every lifted hand of help. His inability to look at me in the eyes. The tail that remained tucked under his legs, unable to wag like other pups. And this represents so many hurting people in our world.

As you go about your Christmas festivities, look for ways to unwrap the gift you have received for someone else in desperate need. You have the power of the Risen King dwelling in you and authority to unleash others entwined by life, injured by thistles. Choosing not to let the hustle and bustle of the season blind us allows Him to lead and use us for the sake of others.

Some of my favorite characters from that first Christmas are the Magi. Wise men saw His star and traveled two years and thousands of miles to worship the King. They were willing to be inconvenienced, to go out of their way to worship Him. This Christmas, let’s worship Him by going out of our way to be His shining star, lighting the way for others to find the peace and promise of our Savior. He is the gift worthy of giving away.

That morning, as we watched the owner drive away, a quiet peace fell between us. After several minutes my daughter’s excitement broke the silence, “This is the best day ever! It felt so good to help that poor dog!” With a lump in my throat and gratitude in my heart, I reminded her it was His best day ever – His greatest joy – to step down from His throne into the world He created, enduring the cross, to set us free from the thorns and thistles we find ourselves tangled in.

This Christmas, I wish you the most joyous time filled with His love and overflowing with His peace!!

Blessings,
Esther