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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, teach me to make my Christmas list shorter to leave room for unexpected gifts — even the kind that don’t come in boxes! Amen.
Before Jesus was born, Mary went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who was also going to have a baby. When Mary said hello, Elizabeth's baby jumped for joy inside her. Excited, Elizabeth shouted, "You're blessed for trusting God's promise to send you a son, Jesus!"

Kids spend a lot of time on Christmas lists. As soon as Thanksgiving is over, you start noticing more commercials and ads for toys, video games and everything else a kid might want. You pay attention, because you think the most best part of Christmas is getting something that you put on the top of your wish list.

Mary and Elizabeth from the Bible might disagree with you. This week's Gospel (Luke 1:39-45) teaches that it can be even more exciting to get something you never expected!

Kids' Christmas lists usually ask for toys, games, pets or little brothers or sisters. Imagine what Mary's wish list might have looked like: She was very young when she and Joseph decided to get married, so she might have asked for things for their home.

Then she found out she was going to become the mother of Jesus! That was something Mary never expected. The same thing happened to Elizabeth when she found out she was having a baby - not as a young woman, when she expected it, but as an older woman.

It's exciting on Christmas morning to open a present you asked for, but presents someone found for you that you didn't think of can be even more interesting.

Mary and Elizabeth found out that the babies they hadn't expected would be more special than any other gift. They were blessed, because their babies were John the Baptist and Jesus![[In-content Ad]]

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