The Old Testament book of Micah is quite Christmassy. (More on that here.) Yet, it is also quite simple and to the point. And as I was thinking about the simplicity that Micah highlights in his last two chapters, my mind went back to what was probably my most simple Christmas ever.

When I was in the ninth grade, just a few days shy of Christmas, someone broke into our home and stole all of our presents. The mattresses were all turned over and dressers emptied. The house was a mess. And frankly, so were we.

Now I would love to tell you that, as a young man in the ninth grade, I was not worried about Christmas at all—that I just felt glad that my family was safe. Instead, I have to admit that in the mind of this selfish, little, greedy, redheaded boy, I was thinking, “Are we getting the presents back? What is going on with the presents?”

We called the police, they did the fingerprinting, and we got the house back in order. And while I never voiced my worries, I remember wondering, “What’s going to happen with Christmas.” We were running out of time.

Then one day—I’m not sure if it was just before Christmas or immediately after it—my dad said, “Hey, guys, hop in the car. We are going out to have Christmas.”

My sisters and I got in the car, and Dad drove us to a store. We walked in, and Dad picked up an item and said, “Todd, we had gotten you this for Christmas, so there you go.” And he just picked it up, put it in the cart, and bought it. And then we went to the next store and the next store. “This is for you, Cindy. This one’s for you, Kim.”

Granted, there was no Christmas ambiance. There was no “O Little Town of Bethlehem” atmosphere. It was very simple. And do you know why? Because my dad took care of everything.

Spiritually speaking, your life will simplify if you let your Father take care of everything. Especially at Christmastime, when a lot of us spend our time stressing, working, and “religioning” to impress our Father. He doesn’t need any of that. He doesn’t even want that. All He wants you to do is trust Him. Believe. And let the Father do what only He can: Grant you His saving, sanctifying, and sustaining grace.

So have yourself a very simple Christmas this year.

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Excerpted from The Small Gifts of Christmas: Discover the Beauty of Christmas in the Book of Micah (InkLink Publishing, 2010) available at Amazon.com