Advent Guide: The Wonder of ChristmasSample

The Power of Love's Door

It's Christmas Day and the house smells like cinnamon apples and pinecones.

As I leave my room, I'm joined at the top of the stairs by a child, now my sibling. We don't have the same biological parents or similar features, but we're experiencing the same loving home. As we both run down the stairs in excitement, we're met by another child, who moved in the week prior. Their excitement is compounded by the joy on our faces.

Waiting next to the tree is my other sibling, different biological parents as well, who has experienced Christmas in this home for a few years now and knows exactly what to expect.

All my Christmas memories are filled with watching the joy on my foster siblings' faces as they opened gifts that held meaning and purpose from my parents. Christmas lists were an opportunity for my parents to show my foster siblings how much they cared about them in our home.

Christmas was OUR favorite time of the year. Our home exuded affection and attention for each child present. This was my encounter with a visual display of Unconditional Love. My parents were foster parents, from the time I was 8 years old until I was in my mid-20s. I witnessed the Love Christ requires of us, under my own roof.

Every child felt the same love, compassion, and nurturing spirit. There was no wrong that could be done to change the way my parents loved us. There were no words that could be said to alter their desire to nurture us, and this would become the very reflection of the Love I would soon learn that God had for me.

The meaning of Christmas and the love that filled my childhood home have so many parallels. My parents were determined to share the Love of Christ by opening the doors to their home, and the Door of Salvation was opened the moment Jesus was born.

I am a firm believer in the Power of Love's Door once it is opened. This holiday season, take time to reflect on the memories of when Love's Door was opened in your life, and how that experience drew you closer to Christ.

Keri Pettis is the Director of Compliance and Strategic Initiatives for Buckner International. She's married with one son and loves to spend time with family in nature. She enjoys serving God's people and hopes that all who encounter her, encounter love and acceptance.