When Christmas Happens in Your Home

"Lord," I prayed, "please let us see two children receive Christ tomorrow." We were in Galloway again for the Christmas store. By far, my favorite time to come. They were doing things a little differently this year. Each person who came in to shop at the Christmas store was given a gift for themselves with a personal sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Each person. All one hundred and fifty of them would hear the Gospel in a one on one environment. I had been asked to help with this part of the store, and I felt so blessed to be able to do that. As I was praying the night before for those who would hear the Gospel, I felt compelled in my heart to pray specifically for three children to be saved instead of two. "Three, Lord?" I responded, "Okay, please let us see three children come to You. And, Lord, could I have the privilege of leading one of those to You?" The last part of my prayer was selfish as it doesn't matter how one comes to Christ as long as they do, but I love the joy of seeing someone receive Christ in their heart, and how their whole countenance changes.

I love it.

"What's a worldless book, Mom?" Rylie asked me the next morning. She was watching me prepare my station for the day before the kiddos began to arrive. "Sit down and I'll show you," I told her. Kade was in the room with me too, and I needed to practice anyway.  I told him I would show him also. I went through each page of the worldless book with the kids as they watched. They had never seen one before. After I was finished I looked at Rylie and said, "Have you ever accepted Jesus as your Savior?" She, of course said, "Yes." Then I looked at Kade, who so many times has heard the Gospel, but not been ready to receive it. I said, "Have you ever accepted Jesus as your Savior?" He, of course, said, "No". "Would you like to receive Christ?" I asked. And he said, "Yes". I was almost blown away. The kid who has said, "No" to the Gospel so many times, had just said, "Yes!"  I told Rylie to go get her daddy. I had been praying for over a year that Dan wouldn't be at work when Kade was saved. I was so grateful he had been able to get the day off. He came in the room, and I asked Kade again if he wanted to ask Jesus in his heart. He said, "Yes" again, and I began to cry. I couldn't stop it. We had been praying for Kade for a couple of years that his heart would be ready for the Gospel. And here he was, with both of us, ready to pray. We bowed our heads, and I helped him pray. When he looked up he was fighting tears. I told him it was ok to cry. His daddy told him that his heart should be happy now. A big smile spread across his face! He was so happy, because that is what Jesus does in our hearts.

As the children began coming into the witnessing room, Kade wanted to help me witness to them. Because when God gets in your heart, you can't help but tell someone else. He would sit with me and tell them that Jesus was the real reason for Christmas. In fact, if they already knew the reason for Christmas, he would get a little put out. Then as I explained the Gospel, he would turn the evangelism cube for me to show them the pictures. And every time he would say to me, Mom, tell them what I did today, tell them that I got saved. He's a shy kid, but he wanted them to know.

I knew the Lord wanted me to pray for three kids to get saved. At the end of the day and seventy-seven kids later, (seventy-three moms had come the day before) we had had two that had prayed to receive Christ - Kade and eleven year old Tao. "Only two Lord," I prayed, "why only two?" I had really felt like I needed to pray for three." One child had been saved the day before, so I rationalized it out that that was the third child I had been led to pray for. I felt like I needed to give God an out, you know, a way to answer my prayer since it didn't seem to happen. I love helping God with His reputation.

It was time to go home, and still only two children of the day had accepted Christ. We got in the car and headed through thunderstorms and ice on our way home. I wresteled with the unanswered prayer all the way home "Three, Lord, three, what happened to the three?"

We got home, unloaded our stuff, and sat down to relax and watch a Christmas movie. The movie was a little longer than I wanted thte kids to stay up, so I stopped it halfway through. I thought about skipping our Advent story, but I decided not to. We read our Advent about how God uses unexpected people and places to do extraordinary things, and then we got ready to pray. I told everyone that we had an extra special reason to be thankful today, and asked if they knew what it was. They said, "Kade becoming a Christian." That was it, of course, and we all congratulated him again.

Except Elijah. He sat on the couch with the oddest expression on his face. Something was wrong. Big alligator tears began to well up in his eyes and roll down his cheeks. I began to ask him questions, "Are you sad that Kade became a Christian? Are you happy that Kade became a Christian? Is something wrong? Are you sad that you are not a Christian?" There it was! He began to sob uncontrollably and nod his head. He was overwhelmed that he didn't have Jesus in his heart, and the fact that Kade now did made him realize that he did not. I always try to be careful with children because you can talk children into almost anything. I don't want to be the one talking a child into receiving Christ, I want it to be God doing the saving. I asked him if he wanted to ask Jesus in his heart and become a Christian. Through his sobs he said, "Yes," Then in pure anguish he cried, "I want to become a Christian, but I don't know how!" I began to cry also. It reminded me of a time so long ago when a jailer thought he was going to die and cried out to Paul and Silas with the words, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" The knowledge that you are in desperate need of Jesus, but you need someone to tell you how to come to Him can be heart wrenching.

I took him on my lap and told him daddy and I would help him. It was ten o clock at night, usually he's sleeping by now. But not this night. The day was not over. The third child of the day was about to have his name written in the Lamb's book of Life! He bowed his head and through his tears prayed as sincere a prayer as a four year old ever prayed. He simply believed in Jesus right there on our couch with his dad, Kade, and I close beside. When he looked up he still could not stop crying. It was a happy cry now though, and he was smiling through his tears.

The night before when I prayed for three children to be saved, I had no idea that two of those would be mine. I am overwhelmed with gratefulness.

Still.

Christmas over two thousand years ago - when God came to earth as a tiny baby in a manger to give us the opportunity to be saved from our sin.

Christmas 2016 - when the reality of what He did came alive in our home.

Our home was very happy as we went to bed that night. I didn't know how I would even go to sleep. I don't think there could be a better Christmas than this one.

*My takeaway from this story - this something that happened in "my everyday life" is that there are so many people in our world crying out with the same anguished cry as Elijah and the jailor from Acts - "I want to be saved, but I don't know how!"

We have the answer. We need to tell others. We need to support those who are doing the telling. We need to be available. We need to be on mission. We need to pray.

Sometimes God answers those prayers in ways you would never expect.