Christmas came early

Have you noticed that Christmas comes earlier every year? This year I noticed stores selling Christmas decorations before Halloween! One of my usual radio stations starting playing only Christmas music before Thanksgiving. How many times can I listen to “Santa Baby” and “Frosty the Snowman”? The day after Thanksgiving is one of the craziest shopping days of the year. Bargain hunters flood the stores, looking for deals and parents are trying to grab the hottest new toy for their child. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to find the perfect gift for someone you love, but I hope we don’t lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas.

I know it sounds cliché but Jesus really is the reason for the season. Our Heavenly Father wanted to give us the perfect gift so he gave us his Son, through whom we have eternal life. I think all of us would agree that Jesus was the best gift ever. But God didn’t stop there, he gave us another gift; the gift of the Holy Spirit. Second Corinthians 1:22 says that “God set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing our inheritance.” Our Heavenly Father wants to give his children not just good gifts, but great gifts. Luke 11:13 says, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Have you ever been so excited about giving someone the perfect gift that you let them open it early? You just knew how much they were going to love it and you couldn’t wait to see their face when they opened it. This year I feel like God has been letting me open my presents early. As my family has been preparing to move to Uganda, Africa in January to do mission work for six months, we have been in constant prayer. We have been asking God to bless our preparations, to open doors, to show us how he wants us to serve, and to help our children with this transition. Sometimes I feel like I am treating God like Santa Clause by handing him my wish list. But Jesus said in Matthew 21:22, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” So I gave God a really long wish list. Ephesians 3:20 says that “God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” And he has done just that for our family.

We know God has gifts waiting for us in Uganda. We know we will have life changing experiences as we share his love with those in need. We know he will open our eyes and change our hearts. We have been anticipating all the great things God has planned for us. But what we didn’t anticipate were the gifts he would let us open early before we went to Uganda. It seems that our Heavenly Father was so excited to give us these gifts and he must have known that we needed them, so he didn’t make us wait.

As I said, I had been praying for many things as we prepared for Uganda, but the prayers I prayed the most were for my children. I prayed for God to comfort my oldest daughter Jessica as she was struggling with leaving her friends behind. I prayed for God to heal the ear of my son Joshua because he still has a small hole in his ear drum even after going through many surgeries. I prayed for God to take away the stress that was causing my youngest daughter Jennifer to have stomach pains. In late September, I had a breaking point. I had tried to do whatever I could to help my children, but they were still in pain. My heart was breaking for my children and I told God that I couldn’t do this alone, that I needed His help. Within one week God let me open one of my presents early. Out of the blue, my husband got an email from a stranger named Steve in Oklahoma who had read an article in Guideposts magazine that they had done about Jim’s work in Uganda with teen prisoners. Steve told Jim that his friend was moving his family to Uganda next year for six months to do medical mission work and our families should talk. This sounded interesting, but it turned out to be more than we could have asked or imagined.

Allow me to compare our two families. We are Jim and Joline Gash, in our early forties. They are Jay and Jill Gregston, in their early forties. Our kids are Jessica, Joshua, and Jennifer, who are 16, 13, and 11. Their kids are Jake, Jared, and Jayne, who are 16, 12, and 11. I was a school teacher and retired when we started a family. Jill was a school teacher and retired when they started a family. We have a Yorkshire Terrier. They have two Yorkshire Terriers. We are moving to Uganda for six months on January 26th. They are moving to Uganda for six months on February 2nd. My husband is a lawyer looking to use his legal training and experience to serve the underserved in Uganda. Jay is an ER doctor looking to use his medical training and experience to serve the underserved in Uganda. Our oldest children will be attending school on line, and our younger two will be doing an independent study/home school curriculum. Both our families are deeply committed Christians and looking to live out our faith in Africa. After meeting the Gregstons through Skype, they made arrangements to live in the same apartment complex as us, in the apartment directly below us.

I told you this was more than we could have asked or imagined. Now our children will have friends their own age in Uganda who they can relate to, we have built-in medical care from our own personal ER doctor, and we can share in each others’ ministries, struggles, and joys. Our preparations for Uganda are going much more smoothly now as Jay and Jim share ideas about travel and our living situation, and Jill and I share our “to do” list and packing list. I could not have imagined that God would give me a moving buddy like Jill. We talk about once a week to see how the preparations are going and we pray for each other all the time. This has been a greater gift than I could have imagined.

But God didn’t stop there. He wanted to give me another early gift. I had been praying for God to show us how he wanted us to serve in Uganda. People kept asking me what exactly I would be doing there, and I said I wasn’t sure yet but I hoped that my children and I would be able to work with teen prisoners and orphans. I knew there would be plenty of work to do and I could make contacts when I arrived in Uganda. But I think God knew how I like to plan ahead, so this month he connected me with an organization called Sixty Feet that is doing exactly the kind of work I hoped to do. When Jim took a trip to Uganda a couple of weeks ago, he met with two of the Sixty Feet volunteers who encouraged us to come along with them to help in their work. Then last weekend the co-founders of Sixty Feet from Atlanta happened to be in southern CA and visited us at our home to talk more about their ministry. I know this is God’s plan for us.

God’s plans are always better than anything I could have imagined. He gives way better gifts than anything I could have put on my wish list. He knew exactly what I needed even before I asked, but I think He is pleased when I climb up into his lap and tell him what I want. I am so thankful that Christmas came early for me this year and that my Heavenly Father already let His daughter open a couple of gifts. Those gifts are just what I need to go to Uganda and share the gift of Jesus with others.