When I was trying to decide who to dedicate my Christmas novella to, I was thinking about the people who help to make Christmas such a special time. There are many people who do that, but one stood out to me and that was my grandma, Fay Smith.
My grandma is a person who truly has a servant's heart. We always have our extended family Christmas celebration at my grandma's house and even though we all pitch in, inevitably it is my grandma who does the large share of the work. She makes her home ready for us and it's a place that we all think of as an extension of our own homes. She makes Christmas treats for all of us: divinity, peanut butter fudge, sugar cookies, bon bons, almond bark - and more. We can never get her to sit down and let the rest of us clean, so we all just pitch in and try to make it not as much work for her. As we play games later in the evening, she usually comes and sits with us. She doesn't really enjoy playing them. She just enjoys being with her family. As we play, she often takes care of the little great grandchildren so that we can keep playing. After we leave, she cleans the house again, making Christmas a long day. Yet when we've offered to move the Christmas celebration my grandma would rather host it.
Why does my grandma do all this? It's love. It's love that compels her to go above and beyond for her family. It's love that drives her to bake everyone's favorite Christmas treat. It's love that won't let her leave the cleaning to the rest of us. It's love that brings her over to watch us play games and spend time with her family. It's love for her grandkids and great grandkids that makes her take care of the little ones while we play. But above all, it's love for her Savior that compels her to serve wholeheartedly as to the Lord.
My grandma loves Christmas, not because of the gifts, the goodies, the time with family (although she enjoys that, too), but because it's when we remember when our Savior was born. My grandma has been such an example of what a true servant looks like. She's humble, does things without expecting or wanting praise, puts her best into what she does, is willing to serve wherever He leads. I think my grandma's life verse could be this, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31). She's my Christmas angel.
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