Hebrews Chapter 10

“. . . let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:22 NIV

Prayer Over Our Children

Heavenly Father, great High Priest, and Spirit of the Living God, make my child holy by the sacrifice of Your body. Oh God, take away her sins and remember not her transgressions. Make her enemies a foot stool before her. Holy Spirit, put Your law in her heart and write it upon her mind. Draw her near to You, oh God, and grant her a sincere heart and the full assurance of faith. Help her to hold fast to Your Hope while You spurn her on to love and good deeds. I pray that You will encourage her and build her up through the faithful gathering of Your people. Oh Lord, help her persevere in doing Your Will so that she may inherit Your promises. May she stand firm and live by faith, not shrinking back, but always believing.

​Tis the season to be jolly. Or, so I tried to convince myself as I rushed around readying the house for our beloved guest whose arrival was imminent. Sweet smells wafted from the oven as I yanked out sugar cookies in merry snowman shapes and cheery heart figures. 

“Oh, no!” cried my little helper, looking at the cookies anxiously. “The bottoms are black!”
My heart sank. The cookies were burned. The festive shapes did nothing to hide their extreme crispy and firm stature. An entire sheet of cookies lay hard and unyielding where soft, sweet, chewiness should have presided. With me still in my pajamas and less then 10 minutes to spare before our friend’s arrival, I started to laugh. Laughter seemed more welcome at a time like this rather than the tears which threatened to squirt out of my eyes.

​A morning meant to bless a friend seemed fraught with disaster. The handmade gift which proudly stood in it’s picture frame with bright cheery colors suddenly fell apart with a crash as my daughter’s arm accidentally tore off the supporting leg.
    
“Mommy!” she wailed, “I broke the picture!”

Quickly, I felt over the back of the frame to confirm, that indeed, the supporting structure of the picture frame was beyond repair. The leg hung precariously unattached at an angle. Can I fix it? I wondered as Sweet Pea apologized profusely. I can’t see what my husband has done, but can I somehow make this work?
    
“Don’t worry, Sweet Pea,” I soothed as I rushed out of the room, “thank the Lord, we have an extra frame, maybe I can transfer it.” I returned with the new one with minutes to spare and cookies still baking in the oven. After a little negotiating, the picture was successfully transferred to the new frame and disaster averted. At least with the picture.
     
The made-from-scratch hot chocolate was lumpy rather than smooth. Clumps of unincorporated cocoa floated in the hot chocolate like islands off the coast of Florida. Moreover, to join the hard as hockey puck cookies and the gift that lay barren and devoid of pretty wrappings, was the melted stick of butter that now coated my oven top. Pots and pans now piled in my sink and cocoa powder dusted my white kitchen counters. Martha Stewart I was not but still in my pajamas I was.
    
“Well, at least the table is set,” I laughed. With only 2 minutes left until arrival, ready or not perfect or imperfect, time had now arrived.
    
“Sweet Pea,” I squatted down to eye level with my little girl, “what is most important is not whether everything is perfect, but whether we can have fun in what we do and bless the people we love.”

She looked at me soberly. I gave her a big hug and laughed again.
    
“Our friend isn’t going to love us because we have everything perfect but because we love her and want to bless her with what we have.” I rushed to flip over the last sheet of sugar cookies and slide them onto the cooling rack.
    
“Look!” Sweet Pea cried with excitement. “Those backs aren’t black! They’re not burnt!”
     
“Thank you, Jesus!” came my breath of relief. “We can serve something!” Pushing the cookies onto a plate, I threw them on the table and rushed to jump into my clothes just as our neighbor walked through our open door.
    
An hour before, all felt well under control and pleasant. My little girl curled up on the sun-soaked loveseat with the twinkling colored lights on the tree winking a merry dance.
    
“Mommy, may I read about Mary and Elizabeth?” she asked with a book in her hand. Tempted as I was to brush aside her request in lieu of guest preparations and cleaning up the living room, I could not let this specific request to learn more about the Christmas story go without granting.
    
“Yes, go ahead.” I smile encouragingly at her as I shoved toys and loose papers behind the furniture in an attempt to hide its mess. Soon, Sweet Pea was lost in the pages of Gabriel telling the news to Zacharias and the poor man’s resulting muteness due to his disbelief. Are you going to be a Martha or a Mary? I firmly asked myself as I ran to throw empty plastic water bottles and shiny pieces of wrapping paper into the trash. Getting the house ready for company was important as her arrival was rapidly approaching, but time to encourage expressed desire to learn more about Jesus beckoned me as time more precious to invest. Firmly shutting the door of the pantry, I quickly padded in my flannel p.j.s to scoot beside Sweet Pea in time to hear the angel Gabriel make his second appearance – this time to Mary. We cuddled beneath the afghan as she read on about Mary rushing to visit Elizabeth and the leaping of the baby within Elizabeth’s womb. Time stood still. All was well. Toys still lay strewn on the floor and bits of crumpled papers peeked among stuffed animals, but my sweet girl was reading about the events surrounding the Christ child’s birth and this far outweighed the perfect presentation of my house. 
    
And amidst the burn cookies, clumpy hot cocoa, unwrapped gift, melted butter, and toys still peeking out among the furniture, our friend and we did laugh, eat, and enjoy time with one another. Thank goodness for my husband’s leftover orange and cranberry cheesecake which saved the day with its creamy yumminess. We dunked cookies in our hot chocolate, floated marshmallows crunched candy canes, and laughed some more.
    
The hearts of our loved ones are more precious than a clean house, as are also the souls of our little ones which are far more important than the perfection of our living rooms. Take time to foster the hearts of our little ones to Jesus. Stop and be present, especially when their hearts are tender with interest to know more about our Heavenly Lord. Invest in what is eternal and not the things which do not possess hearts, souls, or minds.
    
​May we all take time to be present with the ones we love during this Christmas season and be present with the One who came down to earth in the form of a humble baby to save the world from sin and death. Cherish the time you have with your children and your family for our time is fleeting. Love with all your heart and do not worry about the extraneous details. The house may be a mess, but the souls of the ones before you matter more. The cookies may be burned, but the love we share with one another far outweighs the crispy black bottoms of sugared treats. And take time to sit in the story of Christ rather then worry about wrapping those Christmas gifts that cannot give us life or victory over death. Let me encourage you to let our imperfections and flawed edges point others to Christ through the warmth, love, joy, and peace we exude through our cracked edges and imperfections. Merry Christmas dear friends and family. 

A Parent’s Prayer

Oh God, help keep my heart tender to You so that I may not miss opportunities to share Your love with the ones I love. Grant me wisdom and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Speak through me and guide my every thought and word so that I may be Your love and truth to my family, friends, and the world. Oh God, let me not be distracted by the busy chaos which surrounds my life, but help me to seize opportunities to show Your love and invest in Your eternal, heavenly Kingdom.