I'll never forget the moment Ralphie finally got that Red Ryder BB gun on Christmas morning. After everyone told him "you'll shoot your eye out," after every plan failed, after he'd given up hope... his dad was listening the whole time.

That scene hits different when you realize it's our story too.

700 years. That's how long God's people waited for the promise of Christmas. 700 years of wondering if He was still listening. 700 years of discouragement, wrong thinking, and losing hope.

But here's what I'm learning: God knows who you are. He hasn't forgotten your name. He's mindful of every battle you're fighting, every moment you feel not okay, every dream that seems just out of reach.

Maybe you've been looking through the wrong lens lately. Maybe discouragement has been magnifying your problems while minimizing God's faithfulness. Maybe you've been so focused on what's NOT under your tree that you've missed what your Heavenly Father has been preparing all along.

The gift of Christmas isn't just a story from 2000 years ago. It's God saying: "I'm bringing beauty for your ashes, gladness for your mourning, praise for your despair. I'm near. I'm listening. And I'm still working."

So today, I'm choosing to rejoice even when I don't feel it. I'm setting my mind on something good. I'm believing that the same God who kept His promise after 700 years of silence is still keeping His promises to me.

There wasn't a day He wasn't by your side. There wasn't a day He let you fall.

Merry Christmas. It's all about Him. 🎄