God's Love Expressed At Christmas

When I was in the third grade (1963) the hot toy for boys that year was “The Riffleman’s Riffle”. It was a Loop-Lever-Winchester 44 caliber Rifle just like Lucas McCain’s rifle on the show….and every kid wanted one. I used to watch the show and fantasize that I was Marc McCane, Lucas McCain’s son. And of course, the McCains were always fighting the bad guys and were the heroes. When I saw that toy version of the Riffle for sale, I just had to have one. I fix all my dreams on that rifle. I can’t imagine that there was any other toy in my life, that I wanted more. I made sure that my Mom and Dad knew it. Well to make a long story short, When Christmas Day arrived, I just knew that riffle would be under the tree with my name on it. But it was not there. The toy was so popular that the stores sold out. Now you might think I was really upset by this, my parents vowed to get me one as soon as they were available again. But months went by and when they were for sale again, I changed my mind. I didn’t want one anymore. I had moved on to other toys. Sometimes I think we humans are like honeybees flowing from flower to flower.

The beauty of this story is the love that my mother and father showed me. I was comforted by the thought that they felt my disappointment. I could see it in their eyes that they wanted me to be happy. That year, I learned to appreciate the kind of love parents have for their children. Looking back, I can see how much God loves us. He feels our pain and disappointment. He loves far beyond our ability to understand what love really is. God is Love!