Give It All To Me

The morning sun shimmered across a blanket of heavy snow.

It was breathtaking. Each crystal captured a single ray of sunshine and turned the world into diamonds.

Andrea’s feet touched the cold floor as she slipped out of bed, her sisters still fast asleep. She tiptoed into Michael’s room and they quietly made their way downstairs. They didn’t want to wake up dad. This was something they wanted to do on their own.

Moments later, adorned with coats and scarves, boots and mittens, they quietly stepped outside. The chill took their breath away, but it didn’t matter. The excitement they held warmed them from head to toe.

“Stay behind me,” Andrea cautioned. “Step into my footprints as I walk so we don’t mess up the pretty snow.” The weight of what she was carrying made the journey more difficult, but she was determined. Michael followed close behind, carefully stepping into each footprint her tiny boots made. Finally they made it to the road. “Dad will be so happy we did this for him” Michael said, but just as the words left his mouth a truck pulled up. The man rolled down his window and said “Hey kids! No trash pick up today! It’s Christmas Eve. Let your dad take care of that after Christmas”

All the worry of keeping the snow as perfect as possible. All the worry of trying to make their father pleased.
All for naught.

Some of you might be more like my children than you realize. You try so hard. You try to obey God’s words, carefully stepping into each rule you think is necessary to get you into heaven. Working so hard to be good and to receive the acceptance of your Father. Taking step by step, commandment by commandment.
And yet, despite all your striving, there you stand~somehow still holding the garbage of sin that makes you feel unworthy. Wishing your heart was empty of it, yet feeling the weight as it gets heavier and heavier every day. Wondering if you will ever be good enough. Wondering if God will be pleased with you.

My friend, all our works at trying harder are for naught, because no matter what we do, how hard we try, how we work to make our hearts as white as snow~
we will still be left holding our sin. Just like my children were left holding our garbage.

The good news is~ that’s not the end of the story.

On the very first Christmas Eve our world was in darkness. Up until that day we were left holding our sin with no one to take it from us. But on Christmas...

He broke through that darkness.
The God Who created the universe took on the form of a newborn baby.
He was born for you and for me. He was born to take away the sins of the world.

My friend~ He wants you to hand Him the weight of your heaviness, the burden of your sin. He wants to cleanse your heart and empty it of every heartache and disappointment, of everything you’ve been trying so hard to fix and then he wants to fill that emptiness with Himself.

You don’t have to hold that burden anymore. That’s the gift of Christmas.
Jesus Himself.

No more trying for perfection and failing. He doesn’t want perfection.
He just wants us.

The very next morning~on Christmas Day, Christmas Eve snow covered up the empty prints my children had left. They were filled with beautiful new snow. No trash on the curb, no more emptiness in the path they had trod. Only beauty. The beauty of the gift of Christmas.

Turn and look at the footprints you’ve been trying so hard to stay inside. If we could ever be that perfect, there would be no need for Christmas at all. There would be no reason for Christ to be born. He was born for one reason. To die on the cross for our sins. For all the things we think we can somehow clean up ourselves. Hand Him your heart that’s holding on to all the garbage that’s crippling you. Hear His words this Christmas season as He whispers into your emptiness~

”Stop trying so hard to pick up your trash my child. Its Christmas! Let your Father take care of that. It’s the reason I was born so long ago.
Give it all to Me~
believe in Me and I will wash you whiter than snow”.
Psalm51:7, Isaiah 1:18