Enjoythisfreedevotionalbutpleaserespectcopyrightlaws.Donotusethesearticlesorphotographsinanyotherway

withoutwrittenpermissionfromtheauthor.

Preparingyourheartforthe5daysbeforeChristmas

SimplyFaithful

@2012/MarkettaGregory @2012/MarkettaGregory

This5‐daydevotionalismygifttoyou.Mayyoufindstrength–andlaughter–initspages.Andmayithelpyoutofocuslessoncommercializedperfectionandmoreonpeace.Thisyear,mayChristmasbeaholycelebrationforyou

andallofthoseyoulove.

MerryChristmas

“GlorytoGodinthehighestandonearthpeace,goodwilltowardmen.”–Luke2:14

MarkettaGregoryisaformerreligionreporterwhonowsharesherownjourneyoffaithwithreaders.ShelivesinRochester,NY,withherhusband,theirthreeyoungboysandoneveryvocalPomeranian.Tocontacther,emailmarkettagregory@yahoo.comorwritetoP.O.Box12923,Rochester,NY14612.YoucanalsovisittheSimplyFaithfulpageonFacebookandfollowheronTwitter(@MarkettaGregory).

December24Weallknowthatlifeisfullofhighsandlows,ofgleefulridestothetopof

theFerriswheelfollowedbytheslowandrockydescenttotheground.That’swhereIfoundmyselflastweek–intheslowandrockypart.

Iwasspent.IwastiredfromworkingoutsidethehomeandexhaustedfromdealingwithfamilybudgetsandlaundryandLegos.Itseemedeveryone,frommybosstothefamilyPomeranianneededsomethingfromme.Colt,whoisusuallyaDaddy’sboy,criedeverytimeIlefttheroom.Benjaminbeggedmetoplaywithhissuperheroguys,readathirdstoryandmakeanothertreasuremap.JessieneededhelpwithaValentine’sDaycard,andBrianandIwerearguingovereverylittlething.

Everyonefeltneglected,andnoonewasgettingwhathewanted.“Ican’tpleaseanyone,”Ihalfmumbled,halfprayed.“Ican’tmakeanyone

happy.There’sjustnotenoughofme.”Thereisplentyofme,aquiet,lovingvoicetoldme.Iamenough.Ihadn’treallybeenexpectingguidance.Ionlywantedalistener,andeven

asIletthosewordshangthere,inmyheartIwantedtocomplainmore,toargueandmakemycasethattoomuchwasbeingaskedofme.ButIcouldn’t.

IfIclaimtobelieveinanall‐powerfulGod,thendon’tIhavetobelieveheisallpowerful?

It’ssosimple,yetIneedtoberemindedtolivethatconceptout–remindedtotrustthat,evenontheslowandrockyparts,I’mnotontheFerriswheelalone.

DoyoubelievewhatGodsaysaboutyou?Doyourememberthathecallsus

hisbeloved?Haveyoureadthathesayshewillneverleaveusorforsakeus?Today,intherushtogetgiftswrappedandbathroomscleaned,canyou

pauseforjustamoment?Whenexpectationsmountandthejobsseemtoobigforyoutohandle,thinkaboutthesescriptures.Writethemonyourhand,onyourmirrororonastickynoteforyourcomputer.

“TheLordthyGodinthemidstoftheeismighty;hewillsave,hewill

rejoiceovertheewithjoy;hewillrestinhislove,hewilljoyovertheewithsinging.”–Zephaniah3:17

“Butwehavethistreasureinearthenvessels,thattheexcellencyofthe

powermaybeofGod,andnotofus.Wearetroubledoneveryside,yetnotdistressed;weareperplexed,butnotindespair;Persecuted,butnotforsaken;castdown,butnotdestroyed…”–IICorinthians4:7‐9

@2012/MarkettaGregory @2012/MarkettaGregory

December23Inanoceanofmemories,Irememberonethat'sthesizeofaraindrop:A

shortconversationwithMamainthecar.Icouldn'thavebeenmucholderthan7,andIwastellingMamaabout

somethingthatweinthelargersocietyneededtofix.(I'mguessingthatithadtodowithtakingbettercareofanimalsbecauseatthatageIwantedtobeveterinarian.)Iaskedherwhymoreadultsweren'thelping,howtheycouldjustsitthereandwatchthishappen.

Shesaiditwasbecausebythetimewegetold,wegettiredandgiveup.Westartthinkingthatthingswillneverchange,andwestopbelievingthatwecanmakeadifference.

Suchasimple,sadtruth.Ivowedrightthen,inthefrontseatofthatcar,toneverletthathappento

me‐‐andGodhasbroughtmebacktothatvowtimeandtimeagain.WhenIthoughtsomethingwastoohardortoounpopular.WhenIfeltoverwhelmedanddidn'tknowhowtostart.WhenIwastoobusytotakeamomenttobekind.

IknowI'mnotaloneinchoosinghope.Thereareplentyofpeople,ofallages,workingforacausethat'shigherthanthemselves.Plentyofpeoplewhoaretakingsmallstepswithgreatfaith.

WhenImetNataschaYogachandra,shewas11yearsoldandhadalreadyheldenoughbookdrivestoopenninelibrariesinotherpartsoftheworld.Then,there'stheNewYorkteenagerwhohadtheideatogiveChristmascardstoeveryhospitalandnursinghomepatientinRochester.Afewthousandcardslater,hermissionwasaccomplished.And,finally,onethat'sclosesttomyheart:Alocalteachersentane‐mailaskingforbirthdaycardsandluckypenniesforastudentwhowasdyingofcancer.BythetimeIwroteAlyssaBruno'sobituary,herfamilyhadbeensmotheredwithgoodwishesfromtensofthousandsofpeoplewhohadreadthee‐mailandrespondedoutoflove.

Iguessweneverknowthepowerwehavetodogooduntilwetakeaction.Eventhetiniestofraindropscausesripples.

Aretherepeopleinyourlifewhocouldusekindnesstoday?Inthemidstof

thisbusyseason,istheresomethingthatyoucoulddotobringcomfortorjoy?Kindnessdoesn’thavetocostmoney–orevenmuchtime.Willyoufinda

waytoshareit?“Bythisshallallmenknowthatyearemydisciples,ifyehaveloveone

toanother.”–John13:35

December20

GrowingupwithErb’sPalsy,Ioftenhadtoaskforhelpwiththelittlethings–thethingsthatwouldbemucheasierwithtwogoodarms:

French‐braidingmyhair.Sharpeningmypencilsinclass.Fasteningnecklaces.Bynowyou’dthinkI’dbeusedtoit.Afterall,thenervedamageinmyneck

andrightarmwascausedatbirth.I’veneverknownwhatitwasliketobeabletoraisemyrightarmorstraightenmywrist.

Iwas12beforeIfiguredoutawaytoputonapairofpantyhosewithouthelpfrommymama,andmymiddlesisterdrovetwohourstohangpicturesandcurtainsinmyfirstapartment.Mydaddycutmysteakintobite‐sizedpiecesformethefirst29yearsofmylife,andnowmyhusbanddiscretelyslidesmyplateoveratrestaurantstodothesame.

Still,afteralltheseyears,Iblush.I’membarrassedthatIneedhelpatall.Ithinkthat’sprettycommon,thedesiretofeellikeyouhaveitall

together,thatyoudon’tneedanythingfromanyoneelse–thatyouarethegiver,notthereceiver.

Infactwecelebratethatideathroughouttheendofeachyear.Wegatherfoodbasketsforthosedeemed“needy”andwewrapChristmasgiftsforthosewhoare“lessfortunate.”Webuypresentsforourkids,ourmailmanandourhairstylistbecauseitis,afterall,theseasonofgiving.

Butisthathowitwasmeanttobe?DidGodintendforustogivegiftsordidhemeanforustoaccepthisgift,thepresentofloveandjoythathewrappedinswaddlingclothesandputinamanger?

Isuspecthewantsustodoboth–toexperiencethefeelingofhelpingothersandtoknowwhatitisliketobetheonewhoneedsalift.It’shumblingtoknowthatIstumbleonmyownandmustrelyonGod’swisdomandgraceandthekindshouldersoffamilyandfriends.I’dratherfocusonbeingthegiver,butthatwouldbecelebratingonlyhalfofChristmas.

Wearetaughtaschildrentoreceivegiftsandtosaythankyoubutsomehow

weseemtoforgetaswegetolder.HowwillyoureceivethisChristmas?What(orwhom)willyouopenyourhandsandyourhearttothisyear?

“Ifyethen,beingevil,knowhowtogivegoodgiftsuntoyourchildren,

howmuchmoreshallyourFatherwhichisinheavengivegoodthingstothemthataskhim?”–Matthew7:11

@2012/MarkettaGregory @2012/MarkettaGregory

December22

Itstartedinnocentlyenough,thisideatolettheboysplaywithaplastic

nativityset.IthoughtitwouldbeanicedistractionwhilewereadChristmasbooksandachancetoreinforcethestoryofJesus’birth.Butbeforewemadeitthroughthefirstfewpages,therewastrouble.

IdidtheparentalnodtowardmyhusbandandsubtlyshiftedmyeyesovertoColt,ouryoungestson,whohadanangelhangingoutofhismouthandwasshakinghisheadfromsidetoside.Itriedtonotmakeabigdealoutofitsinceitwasfamilytime–atimewhenwegenerallytrytostaypositive.So,wekeptreadinguntilourmiddleson,Benjamin,swipedadonkeyandashepherdfromouroldestson.

IbarelyhadtimetolectureBenjaminontheneedtosharebeforeIsawhimknockingoverthewisemenandheadingforthebabyJesustogettheotherbadguys.

“Let’snotuseJesusforviolence,”Isaid.“That’snotthekindofthingheteaches.”

Afewmorepagesandthebookended.WepulledoutthewordstoTheFriendlyBeasts,anoldChristmascarolthattalksaboutthegiftstheanimalsbroughttobabyJesus,andwetookoutwoodenfiguresthattheboyscouldusetoactoutthesong.Somewherebetweenthecowofferinghermangerandthesheepbringingwoolforablanket,InoticedblueswaddlingclotheshangingoutofColt’smouth.Ididtheinfamousfingersweep.

“Youcan’tchewonJesus,”ItoldhimwhileIcheckedforteethmarksinthewood.Thankfullytherewerenone,soIwipedoffJesusandputhimbackinthemanger.Hewasonlythereforafewsecondsbeforehewentmissing.

“Great,”Isaid,lessthanthrilled.“WhereisJesus?”Then,Isawhim.There,inthemiddleofthescatteredFisherPricenativity

setandthejumbledwoodenfigures,wasourJesusinblueswaddlingclothes.Rightthereinthechaosofmylittlefamily.Unfazedandsolidasever.

“Canweplayagaintomorrow?”Benjaminasked.“Absolutely,”Isaid.“Absolutely.”EvenifthisChristmasseasondoesn’tgothewayyouhaveplanned,doyou

trustthatJesuswillbethere?Lookforhimamidtheburntrollsandthemissedflights.He’llbewaitingforyou.

“ForItheLordthyGodwillholdthyrighthand,sayinguntothee,Fear

not;Iwillhelpthee.”–Isaiah41:13

December21Iwasn’tsurprisedwhenIwalkedintothemodeltrainroomandsawJessie

leaningoveratrackwhiletwogentlemenwithgrayhairpointedtotraincars.It’shardnottogetintoaconversationwiththevolunteersattheNewYorkMuseumofTransportation.It’sasmallplacerunondonations,theloveoftrainsandthejoyoftinkering.

ThesevolunteersarethekindwhostraptinycamerastoenginesandhookupafeedtoanearbyTVsokidscanseewhatit’sliketoroundthecurvesandpasstheminiatureFerriswheel.Theyarethekindofhandymenwhostarttotellaboyhowtofixhistrainandwindupworkingwithhimandrepairingitonthespot.

So,whenIwalkedbyJessieInudgedhimandjokinglyaskedifhehadbrokensomething.“No,justhelpinggetthisbackonthetrack,”hesaid,laughingandlingeringbythetable.

ThetwoyoungerboysandIwentontowatchthemodeltrainschugthroughatunnelandthenwemovedontodriveanantiquefiretruckandpretendtoservepassengersinthediningcar.Jessiestayedbehind,stilltinkeringuntilitwastimetoleave.

Thatnight,overdinner,IaskedJessieifhehadaskedtoseesomethingorifthegentlemenhadjustofferedtoshowhimwhattheywereworkingon.

“Oneofthemenwastryingtogetthetrainbackonthetrack.Inoticedhishandwasshaking,”Jessiesaid,“soIaskedifIcouldhelphim.Thatparticulartrackisalittletricky.Youhavetogetthecarsjustright.”

Andthereitwas.Mysonwhofidgets.Mysonwhousuallyrushespastdetails.Thatson.Henoticedthemostimportantdetailofall.Takealookatyourto‐dolistfortoday.Isthereanything–oranyone–that’s

moreimportantthanwhatyouhavealreadylisted?Whatareyourprioritiestoday?Whatdetailsmattermost?“Letbrotherlylovecontinue.Benotforgetfultoentertainstrangers:for

therebysomehaveentertainedangelsunawares.Rememberthemthatareinbonds,asboundwiththem;andthemwhichsufferadversity,asbeingyourselvesalsointhebody.”–Hebrews13:1‐3