The Grace of God and Petit Fours

My neighbor sweetly sent over a box of Christmas-decorated petit-fours as a present to our children on a day when no one deserved any treats what-so-ever.


As I watched my children carry the box excitedly into the house, I listened as God formulated an impromptu devotional idea.


We put the box up high on the shelf while I gathered a dry-erase board and markers, a nativity set, plates, candle and lighter, both a Christmas and Easter story book, and a Christmas blanket. I spread the blanket and plates out around the Christmas tree and called everyone in.


I wrote each of our names on the board with a smiley face and explained how much God loved us as has great things planned for us. Then I showed everyone the box of petit- fours.


Then I explained that because we choose to sin we do not deserve any treats. We deserve discipline.
And as I erased each smiley face I listed all the behaviors we had seen that day: lying, hitting, hair-pulling, screaming, disrespectful attitude, loss of temper (mine) to name a few. I replaced each smiley face with a sad face and said how much God wants us to honor Him and do the right thing, and how it hurts Him when we treat each other poorly.


Then I took out the baby Jesus from the nativity set, placed it down from the sky into the manger and explained how God had made a way for us to be forgiven of our sins. I took out the Christmas and Easter story and thumbed through the pictures and gave an overview of the entire Christmas story...the one that includes why Jesus came to earth...to give us hope, to life a perfect life, and offer himself as a sacrifice for our sins, making a way for us to be made right with God forever. I erased the sad faces with a red Christmas dish-towel and redrew the smiles.


I then passed out the petit-fours with small birthday candles, lit them, and lead our family in a prayer asking forgiveness. The kids blew out the candles and ate happily in quiet reflection.


It was a holy moment...until about 5 minutes later when someone started fighting over who ate the last candy cane!


Jesus, thank you for coming to us at Christmas. How we need you Emmanuel. Without you, we are truly LOST.