Let Earth Receive Her King

My hands-down, all-time favorite Christmas movie is"Nora's Christmas Gift". It is the story of Nora, a busy, active, service-oriented widow in a small community. As she grows older, however, she deals with macular degeneration and eventual blindness, hearing loss and other age-related maladies. She loses her zest for living, her sense of humor and spends most of her time feeling sorry for herself.

Nora's oldest friend Madeline watches and tries to help. Eventually, after a period of bitterness and self-pity, Nora finally is able to understand what the gift of the Savior means when Madeline asks her when she is going to do what the song "Joy to the World" tells her -- to receive.

Nora finally sees that all the service she did in the past couldn't take away the hurt of the loss of a loved one, of the pain of loneliness, or her own blindness. But Jesus came for that very purpose -- to take upon Himself those pains and all others humans deal with.

The gift was freely given. The lesson Nora learns (and that all of us need as well) is that we have to let go, look up and open our hearts and lives to this most priceless gift. To receive.

And so, at Christmas time, I wish you joy, love, comfort, gratitude and the sure knowledge that we have a loving Father who gave His Son that we might live again.

And I wish for all of us, the ability to receive.