The Sweetest Gift

Today I was given the sweetest gift. It was nothing material. It did not come in a package with a big red bow on top. It was simply the sound of the sweetest voice I have ever heard.

You see, Emma is my quiet, less likely to share emotions or do things to make others look at her, kind of girl. She is the one who hides in her room when Gran and Pop have to leave to go back to Kentucky so she doesn't have to say "goodbye." She is the one who tends to clam up when adults speak to her (though she is getting much better - thank God!). And she is the one who typically sings like a mouse, if she sings at all, during worship on a Sunday morning. Other kids around her just sing and clap, but Emma usually stands quietly and barely makes a sound.

But today. . .today was so sweet.

The majority of our worship team was out of town today for the holidays. Kevin decided to make it a family celebration and just pull out the school's grand piano and let a guy from church lead us in some good old fashioned Christmas carols. I don't know if it was the fact that we were singing Christmas songs or that it was a much more intimate setting, but by the second chorus of the first song, for the very first time in worship, I heard my Emma singing out loud with all her might. And she didn't stop! Now of course, I didn't dare show a sign that I was listening. If I had glanced her way, she for sure would have silenced once again. Instead, I just soaked it in. Her beautiful little "off key" voice singing Silent Night was one of the best gifts I could have gotten this Christmas.

Isn't it funny - we run around like crazy shopping for the perfect gift - and yet it is the sound of a little girl singing Christmas carols at church that ends up topping the list. Thanks, God, for allowing me to notice a great gift this Christmas.