The Christmas Want

"What do you want for Christmas?" - a text I received from my sister-in-law.

World Peace? Safety for those in warring lands? To wipe out world hunger and drought? To shut down pornography, prostitution, sex and labor trafficking? Fairness? To end abuse?

Sure. All of those. But if I'm being honest?

I want to pay off my debt once and for all.

I want to raise the approximately $20,000/yr I need to move to Costa Rica.

As I read through this it sounds so selfish, "I want", "I need", "my debt", my desires. But these things are my desires because I want to begin to fulfill the call God has placed on my heart to carry His love and His truth to the men and women selling themselves on the streets of San Jose.

I want to raise awareness in the spirits of these men and women that they are indeed a child of a most holy and ridiculously loving and redemptive God.

What do I want for Christmas? To be obedient. To be wise. To love as Christ.

But only God can give me the strength to be obedient in spite of my sinful nature. Only God can give me wisdom as I attempt to fulfill this calling. Only Christ can give me the love I need to have for others.

So what did I respond to my sister-in-law's question of "What do you want for Christmas?"

Socks.