Twenty‑six years ago, on Christmas Eve, my then‑boyfriend got down on one knee, right in front of my Christmas tree, and asked me to marry him. The evening was magical — a beautiful tree, twinkling lights, perfectly wrapped presents, and a love story just beginning to unfold. You can probably picture it: butterflies in my stomach, the sparkle of a diamond ring, and the hope that our life together would be a real‑life fairy tale. As the years have passed, and our children have grown and now have children of their own, I still find myself returning to that moment when I said “yes.”
And yet, even that moment — that fairy tale, that season of joyful expectation — can’t compare to the greatest moment of my life. The moment I gave my life to Jesus. I don’t remember the songs, and I don’t remember the sermon. But I do remember the Pastor looking straight into my eyes as I quietly lifted my hand to say “YES” to Jesus. There was a stirring deep within me, a longing for something better, something whole. A longing for a void to be filled — a void only the love of Jesus could fill.
From that beautiful morning on, after saying “yes” to Jesus, I watched my life transform. I began to see the world differently. I saw people with more softness and gentleness. I even saw myself differently. For the first time, I could truly see myself as HIS daughter — deeply loved, absolutely forgiven, fully pleasing, and completely accepted by God.
A few years ago, my Pastor (a dear friend) gave me a Christmas devotional titled Come Let Us Adore Him by Paul David Tripp. In today’s reading, he writes, “The Christmas story is the world’s best love story. It’s about a God of love sending the Son of love to live a life of love and die a death of love, so that all who believe in him would be welcomed into the arms of love forever and ever.”
What a breathtaking picture — a tiny baby, born in a manger, sent to live a sinless life of love, to be crucified and raised on the third day, all so that we could spend eternity with Him. His coming was prophesied hundreds of years earlier in Isaiah 9:6: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
May you, too, feel that familiar flutter — the awe and wonder of realizing how deeply you are loved by a Savior born over 2,000 years ago. And may this Christmas season be filled with holy, magical moments where you can kneel at the manger, look into the eyes of Jesus, and KNOW that He is LOVE.
1 John 4:8: Whoever does not love God does not know God, because God IS love
