Every year, usually on Christmas night, at my Dads house in West Virginia, a giant, 40 gallon, black trash bag is moved into the center of the living room floor. It looks more than a little displaced amongst the brightly colored packages adorned with bows and multicolored tissue paper. As each person takes their turn opening presents, (in birth order, I think, a tradition from Gregs family Carlye brought to our formerly unceremonious way of unwrapping gifts) they ball up their wrapping paper ( never gift bags or fancy bows) and toss it, Michael Jordan-esquely, into the giant, how could you miss? bag. As the last traces of Christmas gift giving is pushed down into the otherwise overflowing bag by my sister Cheryl, we all wait for what we know will be the next words out of Michael Singers mouth. . . Wait for it. . . And BOOM! Well, what does everyone want for Christmas next year? Rachel shakes her head and says dad! While the rest of our responses will be left to your imaginations. Its a legitimate question I suppose, but honestly, as I get older, the Christmas wish list gets shorter and shorter. The only things that come to mind are kitchen towels and dish cloths or something really extravagant like new oven mitts. I dont know what it is about those items for me, but mine always seem dingy and worn. Otherwise, I got nothing. I suppose the other part of that answer is i also realize, now that Im maturing, that those things dont really matter. They vanish, break, wear out, shrink, etc. over time and are not long lasting. A particularly memorable family Christmas, many years ago, my then teenage brother Eddie declared during our gift giving, that he had decided to give everyone his love. At the time Im not sure my sisters and I saw his declaration as anything other than lame, but maybe he had it right after all. Maybe the gifts that last a lifetime; the gifts that are selfless; the gifts that have to be shared with others; the gifts of love, joy, peace and hope; maybe those are the only gifts that really matter after all. And so, in this regard, Id say my Christmas wish list has been fulfilled many times over during the past year. Love....I mean thats what its all about, right? Its everywhere, everyday in a multitude of ways. . .in Duncan standing at the back door wagging his stub of a tail in greeting and anticipation of an ear rubbing, kind words, smiling faces, happy voices, sharing food, an unexpected hug, prayers, scripture, nature, helping hands.... JOY was the gift shared when we celebrated a JOYous occasion this fall with the marriage of Steve (Michaels brother) to Gail. We were so pleased to be able to attend the special occasion. We wish them much joy and love for many years to come. PEACE was the gift God granted Barbara, Michaels mom, this summer. Alzheimers had claimed her for the past several years. Although saying goodbye to our mother, grandmother and mother in law was difficult, we are grateful she can rest in peace. Michael officiated at her funeral, which was at her request. He did a beautiful job honoring and eulogizing his mother and dad. He is what he is because of them, so that made both of his parents pretty remarkable. HOPE is one of my very favorite words. As a minister and two teachers, our family is in the HOPE business. A great deal of our time, energy and money is spent on outreach efforts that provide HOPE. In collaboration with others, our efforts center around creating brighter tomorrows for children by providing educational opportunities today. And of course we live in the HOPE of everlasting life in heaven with Barbara, Ed, Betty and many other loved ones. So, this year give the gifts that really matter. The gifts that you cant find at your local mall or even Amazonsmile. are available in our loving hearts and helping hands all year long....the gifts of love, joy, peace and hope. Eternal God, each day is radiant with the brilliance of your one true light. May that light illuminate our hearts and shine in our words and deeds. May the hope, the peace, the joy and the love represented by the birth in Bethlehem fill our lives and become part of all we say and do. Amen. Merry Christmas!
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 22:18:55 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015