What are you expecting for Christmas?

I remember as a child asking Santa Claus for a bike … a remote control airplane … and sundry other items that, in my little mind, would bring eternal happiness! If I could have just that one thing, then I wouldn’t ask for anything else. Of course that lasted all of about a week or so after Christmas!

Then I was on to the next thing that I was sure would bring the happiness for which I could not wait. At some point, the toys began to get more expensive … the desires began to grow with age … it seemed the insatiable desire to be happy by having stuff would sometimes consume my life. I always wanted more.

With that in mind, we set the theme for Christmas at Wellspring based upon this notion of getting “something more.” Don’t we want to find that something more? I have to admit that my life, from time to time, has been centered upon getting that more. But the “more” that I sought was never found where I thought it should be found.

The good news, however, was that it was never a far walk back to my faith. There was the story that I had been told. It was the story of a God who provides everything that we ever will need. It was a constant reminder that the happiness we seek is not found in things. Rather, the happiness we seek is found in relationship … our relationship with God and our relationships with one another. It is those relationships that today define the happiness that I seek in my life.

And that is the gift I seek. It is the gift of a full and abiding relationship with a God who has big plans for my life. It is the gift of relationship with others, as we share the journey and blessings of life together.

So what gift do you seek this Christmas? Are looking for something more? What are you expecting for Christmas?