I spoke with a mom recently who deeply regrets missing out on the opportunity to spend her last Christmas with her grown son.  Several years ago her son and his family lived just a couple hours away and pleaded with her for a month to spend Christmas with him, his wife and small children.  The son was in full-time ministry and though he was happy, content and fruitful where he was, deep down he knew the Lord was about to make a geographical change.  Deep within he knew this was going to be the very last opportunity he ever had to spend Christmas with his mother. He was bold enough to share this with her but to no avail.  Though she was a widow, she had 3 other children living near and wanted to keep things the way they had always been and visit with them. She justified her decision by telling this son she would consider spending the following Christmas with him and his family.  Another Christmas will never be. The son and his family moved far, far away and the mom is now too ill in health to travel.  Today she lives with deep regret and every Christmas she thinks with sadness about the last opportunity she had to spend Christmas with her son.

Should this mom beat herself up every Christmas?  Absolutely not.  But she has deep regret over the missed opportunity and finds it difficult not to reminisce about her decision.  The son has been in full time ministry for 25 years and many holidays found him too far away and without travel expense to be with his extended family.  So she lives with the memories she has and longs for more.

What about you?  Maybe you don’t have a child who is asking you to share Christmas but maybe the Lord is prompting you to do something that you prefer to put off.  We are to ask the Lord for guidance in our decisions but sometimes we choose to take the path of least resistance.  The easy road will always be a temptation.  But the road of regret and missed opportunity is the most painful road. I challenge you today to die to self when you wait for the Lord to answer Lord, is there anything you want me to do for you this Christmas?