A Facebook post, written by a friend of mine, really resonated with me this past week.    He has graciously allowed me to share it with you.  I hope it is as thought provoking for you as it was for me…

🌸Rebeca

What Is It You Want 

by Jerry Neumann

“What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word, and I’ll throw a lasso around it and pull it down.” Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life

What do you want? It’s a good question. Lots of times I have no idea what I want or I can’t quite put it into words. Sometimes it is obvious to me or at least I think I know what I want.

“I want an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle!”
Ralphie to Santa Claus in A Christmas Story

“What do you want this Christmas?” I suppose the answer has as much to do with who is asking the question as anything else. I think I always answer with an unconscious consideration of what is the range of realistic possibilities. It is a different answer if Mary asks me versus if one of my kids is asking. I would not answer a sibling the same as I would my parents.

What if it were a genie in a lamp doing the asking? And how about if it was God?

Again, my answer would be based on my belief in the perceived ability of the giver.

The genie needs us to do something for what he offers. God, on the other hand, needs nothing from us and in fact, only asks that we believe.

This Christmas, if God asked you what you wanted for Christmas, what would you answer?

Would you ask for faith? Maybe joy or love? Perhaps hope. What about peace on earth or peace in your life? Maybe for a cure for cancer, freedom from addiction, or a solution to world hunger.

What do you perceive is the ability of the Giver? Would you consider asking for eternal life? If so, God might respond that this gift has already been provided for each one of us in Him who has been called the Greatest Gift of All.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16 [the Good News in a Nutshell]

What is it that you want this Christmas?