When I was a kid, the most wonderful day of the entire year was when the Sears Christmas catalog arrived in the mailbox in its kraft paper wrapping. It usually arrived on a nippy September day. Oh, it smelled so good and the pages were crisp, smooth, and unblemished. It was a blank slate on which to record all your wants and desires for the Christmas season. Circling an item meant you wanted it. Circling it boldly with a check mark by it meant you really wanted it. The number of subsequent check marks beside an item was in direct correlation with how badly said item was wanted. It was just the system back then- I didn’t make it up. 

Every year, I’d get the new catalog and sit down on my bed with a freshly sharpened pencil. Pencil was used in case minds were changed or something better was found on the next page. I’d get busy circling and checking. So many choices and so many check marks. For a few years, there were a couple of things that were always circled and checked heavily. The Snoopy Sno-cone Machine and a Big Wheel. The sno-cone machine is self-explanatory. What was there not to love about a doghouse that made shaved ice and included 4 delicious syrups right in the box? I envisioned snowballs all day, every day and even some entrepreneurial opportunities. And the Big Wheel- well, some of my neighbors had one and I loved playing with theirs. They were available in a primary color scheme and a pink one with flowers. I wasn’t really picky about the color, I just wanted to experience the open road on a plastic three-wheeler of my very own. One with brand new stickers that weren’t peeling off like my neighbor’s and rainwater trapped inside that sloshed when you took a curve. 

Yes, every year, the Sears catalog would be marked up with #2 lead. Pages were turned down for easy reference and, every year, the Snoopy Sno-cone Machine and Big Wheel were highlighted and impossible to miss. Despite making my wishes clear, I’d wake up on Christmas morning and neither one would be there. There were Easy Bake Ovens, roller skates, pogo sticks, doll houses, sleeping bags, a Merlin, board games, but never a Snoopy Sno-cone Machine or a Big Wheel. I can’t go so far as to say I was devastated because of all the other things that were there, but it didn’t keep me from marking it again the next year and hoping and praying for a different result. Perhaps the problem was I didn’t have enough checks or my circling needed to be done with more intensity. 

I’m not sure why my parents never let Santa grant those catalog wishes. They probably knew the sno-cone machine would work a couple of times before it would quit or I’d find out making snowballs was more trouble than it was worth and it would end up just taking up cabinet space in the kitchen. The Big Wheel- I’m sure they could see that riding my bike was better exercise and it put me up higher where drivers could see me better. I never asked them, but I can imagine that’s what they were thinking. 

Christmas has long been marketed as a time when your wishes and dreams can come true. The Sears Christmas catalog was even called the Wish Book. This Christmas season, I know a lot of you are still hoping and praying for one specific thing- just as you’ve done for a quite some time now. It’s that one thing that won’t fit in a box or under your tree. You’ve prayed for physical healing for yourself or someone you love and you’re feeling desperate. You’ve prayed to have a baby of your own- something that seems to come so easily for others. You’ve prayed for a spouse to share your life with and wonder if you’ll ever find him. You’ve prayed for your child who’s lost their way and, every year, there’s no change. Along with those, there are about 5 million other possibilities of things the heart can long for that can seem to be no-shows. They’re desires of your aching heart that have gone unfulfilled and you’re wondering why God would withhold it from you if He really loves you. I don’t have the answers and struggle with those questions myself, sometimes. But, if we belong to Him, we know He has a plan that He’s working out for our good. We may not understand it or like it or agree with it or be able to see it, because His ways are higher than ours. He sees so much more than we can see. He’s operating with infinitely more information than we have. We know this for sure- He is always for us and He is always good. Christmas is about the hope that came in the birth of our Savior, Jesus. He came to meet our most desperate and primary need of redemption and eternal life. If He has secured that for us, we can certainly trust Him to work in other places in our lives where longing can hide. 

Gifts are on the minds of most of us right now. Depending on where we are in the process, we’re either ordering them, wrapping them, delivering them, or still agonizing over them. Jesus is the greatest gift we could ever receive or share with someone. Let’s not let the reason for our hope get buried under all the ripped paper and bows and boxes. I hope you all have the most wonderful Christmas season with your family. I know you’ve all been just as busy as I have. The holidays are not easy on us, womenfolk. Next year, we’ll resume our time together when life returns to its normal pace. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you. We’ve been around the calendar a lot of times together and I’ve loved each one. 

Rest and sleep and abide in heavenly peace this holiday season. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, my friends. 

JONI 

FYI- Otis and Ruby Miller are waiting on the final pieces of their Christmas outfits to arrive in the mail. When those are in and we figure out how to make two untrained, out of control hound dogs, formerly of the streets, sit long enough for a portrait, I’ll post those for you. The most likely scenario- I’ll be sharing a blooper reel.