Last night I felt inspired to write a story. So to all my broken-hearted brothers and sisters in Christ, here is my Christmas gift to you...
Embrace Today
Christmas Day finally arrived. The Christmas spirit was especially felt in the homes of two families that morning. Sounds of childrens feet rushing down the steps, as they impatiently unwrap their Christmas gifts. Two little boys in particular, named Patrick and Tommy each received a special gifta gift they will never forget. One of the little boys from one family was named Patrick. The second little boy from the other family was named Tommy. The fathers of Patrick and Tommy knew how much their boys loved puppies. So what better day than Christmas to surprise them each with a puppy? The day was filled with happiness and laughter as both boys picked out names for their puppy and bonded with them.
A few months passed by. The puppies grew bigger, stronger, and full of playful energy. Everyday before the boys got on their school buses, they would play with their puppies out in their fenced backyards. The boys and their puppies were inseparable until life happened one day.
One day, Patrick woke up later than usual and was running late. He quickly got dressed for school, ate breakfast, and played with his puppy outside for a few minutes. When he heard the bus pull up, as he hurried to hop on the bus, he forgot to latch the gate door to the fence. Later that day, upon returning home from school, Patrick looked at the gate door and saw it wide open. He realized he forgot to latch the door. A feeling of panic took over him as he raced over to the yard hoping his puppy was still there. However, his puppy had run away and was nowhere to be found. Patrick was devastated to say the least. He laid face down on his bed and cried all afternoon and into the evening. He even skipped dinner. After dinner, his father just held his son in his arms and comforted him as he continued to sob. Before falling asleep that night, Patrick prayed to God: Dear God, I feel like dying. I want my puppy back! Why did this happen to me? I am sorry I forgot to latch the gate door. Are you punishing me for it? If you bring back my puppy, I promise I will remember to latch the door from now on. Please give me another chance to prove myself to you. I love my puppy more than anything in this world and I dont want to lose him. I will wait for you to return my puppy to me. Thanks God. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Patrick continued to pray daily, waiting for the return of his puppy. Weeks go by, no puppy. Months go by, still no puppy. Then Christmas rolls around again and Patricks dad decided to surprise him with a new puppy. On Christmas morning, as his dad came into the living room where the tall Christmas tree stood, he went to hand over the new little puppy to Patrick. As soon as Patrick saw the new puppy, he lowered his chin and muttered, I dont want a new puppy!! I am still waiting for my old puppy to come back to me. Overwhelmed with emotion, Patrick burst into tears and left the room.
As his father stood and watched his son run upstairs to his room crying, tears welled up in his own eyes as sadness filled his heart.
Remember the other little boy, Tommy? Well Tommy, coincidentally, also had forgotten to latch the gate door on the same day that Patrick forgot to. Just like Patrick, Tommy spent all day and evening crying in his bedroom. Before falling asleep that night, Tommy prayed to God. Dear God, I feel like dying. I want my puppy back! Its my fault he ran away. I was in a hurry and forgot to latch the gate door. I am very sorry I forgot. Will you forgive me? I love my puppy and I hope you will return him to me. If for some reason, he doesnt come back, will you do me a favor? Please take care of my puppy wherever he is right now and let him know how much I love him. Thanks God. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Tommy continued to pray daily, waiting for the return of his puppy. Weeks go by, no puppy. Months go by, still no puppy. Then Christmas rolls around again and Tommys dad decided to surprise him with a new puppy. On Christmas morning, as his dad came into the living room where the tall Christmas tree stood, he went to hand over the new little puppy to Tommy. As soon as Tommy saw the new puppy, his eyes sparkled as he jumped for joy. He ran over to his dad, gave him a big hug and kiss, saying Thanks Dad. I love you. I will always love my old puppy. But THIS time I am going to do my best to take care of my new puppy so he doesnt run away.
As his father stood and watched Tommy happily playing with the new puppy, tears welled up in his eyes as gladness filled his heart. He whispered a quick prayer underneath his breath, Thank you God for healing my son.
When life happens and your heart breaks, how do you react? Do you constantly dwell on the past? Do you put God in a box by stubbornly clinging to the desires of your own will instead of Gods will? Do you let your heartache paralyze your mind, body and spirit to the extent that it leaves you feeling hopeless and fearful of the future? Do you allow anger and bitterness to set in and ultimately lead you to a hardened heart? Or do you seek Gods will, learn the lesson(s) well and move on with your life by letting go and letting God?
Unfortunately, life happens sometimes. Everything is going along fine and then one day our life is turned upside down while our hearts are left feeling broken with pain and despair. Everything happens for a reason and sometimes we dont understand why. As humans, we have a tendency to always ask the question, why did this happen to me? Perhaps a better question to ask might be what can I learn from this experience? And so the saying goes, behind every dark cloud there is a silver lining. Dont miss out on the opportunity to learn the lesson(s) of life. Never let yesterdays sorrow rob you of tomorrows joy. Let go and let God. Embrace today!
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My prayer for those of you who are hurting:
I pray that you let God into your hearts and let his everlasting love heal your brokenness. May you seek His will and find comfort in His peace, mercy, and forgiveness. May the power of His forgiveness help you forgive others and, most importantly, forgive yourselves so that you may become whole again to give love and receive love with an open heart. Trust in Him and know that He has a perfect plan for you. God bless you. Amen.
Embrace Today
Christmas Day finally arrived. The Christmas spirit was especially felt in the homes of two families that morning. Sounds of childrens feet rushing down the steps, as they impatiently unwrap their Christmas gifts. Two little boys in particular, named Patrick and Tommy each received a special gifta gift they will never forget. One of the little boys from one family was named Patrick. The second little boy from the other family was named Tommy. The fathers of Patrick and Tommy knew how much their boys loved puppies. So what better day than Christmas to surprise them each with a puppy? The day was filled with happiness and laughter as both boys picked out names for their puppy and bonded with them.
A few months passed by. The puppies grew bigger, stronger, and full of playful energy. Everyday before the boys got on their school buses, they would play with their puppies out in their fenced backyards. The boys and their puppies were inseparable until life happened one day.
One day, Patrick woke up later than usual and was running late. He quickly got dressed for school, ate breakfast, and played with his puppy outside for a few minutes. When he heard the bus pull up, as he hurried to hop on the bus, he forgot to latch the gate door to the fence. Later that day, upon returning home from school, Patrick looked at the gate door and saw it wide open. He realized he forgot to latch the door. A feeling of panic took over him as he raced over to the yard hoping his puppy was still there. However, his puppy had run away and was nowhere to be found. Patrick was devastated to say the least. He laid face down on his bed and cried all afternoon and into the evening. He even skipped dinner. After dinner, his father just held his son in his arms and comforted him as he continued to sob. Before falling asleep that night, Patrick prayed to God: Dear God, I feel like dying. I want my puppy back! Why did this happen to me? I am sorry I forgot to latch the gate door. Are you punishing me for it? If you bring back my puppy, I promise I will remember to latch the door from now on. Please give me another chance to prove myself to you. I love my puppy more than anything in this world and I dont want to lose him. I will wait for you to return my puppy to me. Thanks God. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Patrick continued to pray daily, waiting for the return of his puppy. Weeks go by, no puppy. Months go by, still no puppy. Then Christmas rolls around again and Patricks dad decided to surprise him with a new puppy. On Christmas morning, as his dad came into the living room where the tall Christmas tree stood, he went to hand over the new little puppy to Patrick. As soon as Patrick saw the new puppy, he lowered his chin and muttered, I dont want a new puppy!! I am still waiting for my old puppy to come back to me. Overwhelmed with emotion, Patrick burst into tears and left the room.
As his father stood and watched his son run upstairs to his room crying, tears welled up in his own eyes as sadness filled his heart.
Remember the other little boy, Tommy? Well Tommy, coincidentally, also had forgotten to latch the gate door on the same day that Patrick forgot to. Just like Patrick, Tommy spent all day and evening crying in his bedroom. Before falling asleep that night, Tommy prayed to God. Dear God, I feel like dying. I want my puppy back! Its my fault he ran away. I was in a hurry and forgot to latch the gate door. I am very sorry I forgot. Will you forgive me? I love my puppy and I hope you will return him to me. If for some reason, he doesnt come back, will you do me a favor? Please take care of my puppy wherever he is right now and let him know how much I love him. Thanks God. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Tommy continued to pray daily, waiting for the return of his puppy. Weeks go by, no puppy. Months go by, still no puppy. Then Christmas rolls around again and Tommys dad decided to surprise him with a new puppy. On Christmas morning, as his dad came into the living room where the tall Christmas tree stood, he went to hand over the new little puppy to Tommy. As soon as Tommy saw the new puppy, his eyes sparkled as he jumped for joy. He ran over to his dad, gave him a big hug and kiss, saying Thanks Dad. I love you. I will always love my old puppy. But THIS time I am going to do my best to take care of my new puppy so he doesnt run away.
As his father stood and watched Tommy happily playing with the new puppy, tears welled up in his eyes as gladness filled his heart. He whispered a quick prayer underneath his breath, Thank you God for healing my son.
When life happens and your heart breaks, how do you react? Do you constantly dwell on the past? Do you put God in a box by stubbornly clinging to the desires of your own will instead of Gods will? Do you let your heartache paralyze your mind, body and spirit to the extent that it leaves you feeling hopeless and fearful of the future? Do you allow anger and bitterness to set in and ultimately lead you to a hardened heart? Or do you seek Gods will, learn the lesson(s) well and move on with your life by letting go and letting God?
Unfortunately, life happens sometimes. Everything is going along fine and then one day our life is turned upside down while our hearts are left feeling broken with pain and despair. Everything happens for a reason and sometimes we dont understand why. As humans, we have a tendency to always ask the question, why did this happen to me? Perhaps a better question to ask might be what can I learn from this experience? And so the saying goes, behind every dark cloud there is a silver lining. Dont miss out on the opportunity to learn the lesson(s) of life. Never let yesterdays sorrow rob you of tomorrows joy. Let go and let God. Embrace today!
****************************************
My prayer for those of you who are hurting:
I pray that you let God into your hearts and let his everlasting love heal your brokenness. May you seek His will and find comfort in His peace, mercy, and forgiveness. May the power of His forgiveness help you forgive others and, most importantly, forgive yourselves so that you may become whole again to give love and receive love with an open heart. Trust in Him and know that He has a perfect plan for you. God bless you. Amen.
