Bible Reading: Isaiah 9:2-7; Matthew 1:18-25
"I can't believe it's almost Christmas and there's no snow!" Alaina looked out the car window as they drove to church and frowned. "It just doesn't feel like Christmas without snow," she grumbled. For weeks the weather had been just above freezing. Instead of snow, storms of rain and sleet left a wet, muddy mess behind.
When they pulled into the church parking lot, Alaina hopped out of the car and landed in a mud puddle. Her church shoes and tights were covered in mud.
"Ahhhh!" she cried. "It's freezing, and I'm a mess!"
"Come on, honey," said her mom. "Let's run to the bathroom and dry you off before church starts."
A few minutes later Alaina was dry and warm, but her legs were still speckled with mud and dirt. Before she could complain, her friend Hadley excitedly ran up to her. "Alaina! Have you seen outside? It just started snowing!"
The two ran to the window and saw a few flurries starting to fall. Alaina giggled with excitement and forgot her muddy clothes. "Finally! I've been waiting forever!"
After church Alaina ran to the window again. The ground was already covered with a sparkling blanket of fresh snow.
Her mom came up behind her. "It does look beautiful. Why do you think fresh snow is so exciting?"
"Well, it finally covers up all the gross mud!" Alaina exclaimed, looking at the spots on her legs.
Mom nodded. "I think that must have been what the first Christmas felt like."
"What do you mean?" Alaina asked.
Mom smiled. "Just like the muddy mess outside that covered your clothes today, without Jesus our hearts look like a muddy mess full of sin. But just like you were waiting for the snow to cover up the mess, the world waited and waited in anticipation of the Savior God had promised. Can you imagine how exciting it must have been to hear that Jesus was finally here to make our hearts as white as this snow?"
Alaina looked surprised. "Wow, I didn't realize the world had to wait so long for Jesus to come." She looked outside. "Now the snow will remind me just how special Christmas is."
–Bethany Den Boer
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