How our world changes in three weeks! At Thanksgiving, as Craig and I celebrated together at the Cape Neddick Inn, we were only praying this week would hurry up and get here. Now, as I sit in our living room, surrounded by boxes, I can almost breathe a sigh of relief.

Tomorrow is the day. We close on our new home in Maine! Finally, we will be able to settle down and nest into the first home we have chosen together, and other than the inordinate packing before my eyes, I can see a bright future ahead! We are so excited!

Here’s a sneak peek:

So, since I already know what Craig and I got each other for Christmas – our new house, I began thinking about other gifts my husband has given me in the past…

Anyone who knew me pre-Craig can attest to the fact that my car was always…well…crowded. In high school, I drove a Jeep Grand Cherokee and at one point, my parents were looking at selling it. A friend of mine remarked on this and said, “Does it come fully loaded?”… and he wasn’t talking about luxury options. He was talking about my STUFF.

Back in the pre-Craig era, I am fairly confident I could have driven into the desert and survived for several weeks just with the junk I was carrying around in my car. Not trash, mind you…but clothes, shoes, CD’s, books, bags, purses…You name it, my car had it!

But, when Craig and I started dating, he took one look at my ‘fully loaded’ car and shook his head. I think the name Lefebvre must translate roughly to “My Car Must Be Sparkling At All Times”. Before I could stop him, Craig set to work cleaning my vehicle – from the inside out. After a few hours of scrubbing and polishing and the filling of several garbage bags, my car looked brand-new. Long gone were the signs of the outfit I wore the month before or the stain where a friend had spilled a Coke along the ride…It looked like a different Pier-mobile…

And that’s what Jesus does for us.

Since He died on the cross, to save us from all of our sins, He became a living sacrifice for the the world. When you allow Him into your heart and let Him be Lord of your life, He will take all the junk, all of your baggage and throw it out. All the stains from your past will be cleaned. No one will ever know they were there. You will be a brand-new, sparkly clean person, inside and out.

Isn’t that amazingly freeing? The other day, I was watching a sermon given by one of my FAVORITE pastors, Robert Morris at Gateway Church, and he told a story about being at the end of a service one evening, and the Holy Spirit pointed out to him a woman sitting in one of the first few rows. The Holy Spirit said to him, “Do you know that woman’s past?”, to which Robert replied, “No, I don’t”…

And the Holy Spirit said to him, “Neither do I.

Wow. How awesome is it that we not only serve a God who forgives us, but a God that blots out our stains, our past. He throws out our baggage and it’s gone. For good.

I don’t know about you, but when I truly realized that He loves us that much, it felt like I was walking on air. All of my junk is GONE. I am a new person, a new creation in Christ.

So let the Lord give you the most beautiful gift imaginable this year: His Son. Trust me, you won’t need to keep the receipt.