Thought for Today
Exodus 12:26 And when your children ask you, 'What do you mean by this observance?' 27 you shall say, 'It is the passover sacrifice to the LORD, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt . . . “
Psalms 34:11 Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
John 1:12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God,
Last night on the NBC Evening News, the anchor, Tom Llamas, was broadcasting from Houston, Texas. That alone was enough to get my attention. The background picture on the television screen was a familiar picture of Houston’s skyline. But it was not the location that grabbed my attention.
As do most networks, NBC usually concludes their nightly news with a ‘feel-good’ story. The featured story last night was about Christmas at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. The hospital is located in Houston’s Medical Center. During and after my seminary training, I volunteered in the Medical Center with the Chaplain’s office of one of the hospitals. I always watch for any stories, events or programs in that hospital or any of the others in the Medical Center.
Texas Children’s Hospital is of special interest because a friend and former neighbor has volunteered there for many years. She has shared numerous stories with Greta and me about all the good work done there by the doctors, nurses and staff. My own experiences reinforce for me the importance of all the work done by those doctors, chaplains, nurses, healthcare providers and staff.
The word children appears 300 – 1800 times in the Bible. Children figure prominently in many of the most familiar stories in the Bible. As a young child, I remember learning and loving, “Luke 18:16 Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.” Naturally, my thoughts about that verse as a child were different from my thoughts and understanding of that verse years later as a parent.
The story on the news last night was about a very special program at Texas Children’s Hospital during Christmas. The idea of a young child in the hospital any time of the year is sad. Hospitals are scary for adults and children. There are strange and often harsh smells. There are loud noises at times. There are big and frightening machines. And, of course there are needles. Even today, when a doctor or nurse tells me I will only feel a ‘little pinch,’ I brace myself.
“The NBC News program titled ‘Children at Texas Children’s Hospital gifted Christmas trees’ aired on December 17, 2025. The program highlights the initiative by Texas Children’s Hospital to provide Christmas trees for hospitalized children, allowing them to choose from more than 200 hand-decorated, kid-sized trees. This initiative is part of a broader effort to spread holiday cheer and provide hope to children facing serious health conditions. The trees are designed to be festive and colorful, creating a magical atmosphere in the hospital’s 16th floor, which has been transformed into a high-end holiday store.” (Bing Search)
Watching the faces of those young children as they walked through the aisles of those trees, their expressions as they realized they could pick a tree for their own room, the laughter and glee were all faith-restoring experiences to watch. The awe and astonishment as they realized that the tree they chose would be hand delivered to their room surely brought tears to the eyes of all the volunteers, the newscasters and cameramen, and to everyone who watched that program.
Whether one is a child or a child-at-heart, irrespective of all the glitz and glitter, all the commercialization of this holiday, that story is what Christmas is all about. The true magic of this season is the birth of a child. Our Creator God came down among us, as one of us, born in a humble manger to an ordinary family. That magic is a cause for celebration; and, that celebration certainly should be shared with all children, even in a hospital. Whether one is a child or a child-at-heart, we are all children of God.
Stay safe, share the magic, trust God,
Pastor Ray