The email from my pastor stated, “Here is your Advent Fellowship list. Pray about how you will reach out to one another during this Christmas season.”
Four households populated our list, with one couple living almost twenty miles away. I felt annoyed, not wanting anyone to dictate whom we should fellowship with. And why did we get “stuck” with people who lived so far from us?
The next morning as I studied my Bible and prayed, I heard that quiet voice inside, distinctly masculine. “It’s not about you, Anne.”
A wave of guilt flooded me, and tears spilled out as I cried for forgiveness. What was I thinking? Hadn’t Moses unselfishly given his entire life to lead a miserable grumbling people? Ruth forsook her heritage to follow Naomi to her homeland and live with her people to carry on the family name. Esther took a huge risk in reaching out to a foreign king for the sake of her people. Hosea married a promiscuous woman for God’s sake. And Jesus gave His life for my sinful selfishness. None of them asked for their assignment.
I whined inside about being asked to love others as Jesus has called us to just because it wasn’t my idea.
Obediently, I created and delivered gifts to those I’d been assigned. Despite myself, this unselfish act brought me peace and joy.
A phone message from the elderly couple in quarantine twenty miles away in an assisted living facility said, “Thank you so much for the beautiful, framed print with Scripture. It couldn’t have been more perfect, and we are so blessed.”
Of course, it wasn’t my idea. Only when God is in control can we truly experience the blessings He has in store. God will always move us from selfish to selfless.
May the true meaning of the Christmas season fill your heart today and every day of the year as you give according to God’s plans.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)
Anne Hughes is an eMentor who trains and assists individuals with disabilities to find work-from-home remote-call-center jobs. When not working, she writes, creates faith memes to share, and spends time with her family.