Advent Guide: The Wonder of ChristmasSample

The Worst Day of the Year

The best day of the year – Christmas Day! Weeks of staring at the Christmas tree. Brightly wrapped packages begin to appear with name tags: "Kenneth, David, Michael, and, the best – Rickey!"

Shake them, heft them – guessing what it is over and over again! I must say that the imagination gets a great workout. One year, there were two big boxes under the tree. My brothers and I decided that it was a go-kart in one box and the motor in the heavy box. We could only hope!

My mother was smart – lots of Christmas snooping experience so these boxes were double-wrapped! Finally, Christmas Day arrived and our parents saved those two big boxes for last. We couldn't wait – here it comes, zipping through the neighborhood, kids looking on in awe as I drive by ... Finally, we get to open the boxes ...

Encyclopedias and a bookshelf. Yep, Collier's Encyclopedias. Hopes dashed.

We got a lot of miles out of those books. But it wasn't a go-kart. The worst day of the year, by the way – Christmas Day afternoon. All the presents are opened, and well, if that's all it is, then that was all there is. Then I received the greatest gift of all.

God's favor rested on me and now what is the best day of the year? The day I was saved in July 1963. Since then, Christmas gifts are nice but the Incarnation – that tops them all. (Even better than a go-kart!) Hope made real.

Rick Webb is the Chaplain at Buckner Westminster Place in Longview, Texas. His favorite thing about the Christmas season is the gift of God as a human baby! His second favorite is seeing all the Christmas lights throughout the neighborhoods.