The Gift

CHRISTMAS!  It is here.  An abundance of memories, tradition, family gatherings, brightly lit trees, the mixed aromas of baking & evergreen, opening & sending cards, gifts.  When the boys were young, we would set aside a day when we would go as a family to buy gifts for one another. The day was special, as it always included the rare treats of dinner out, a movie together, driving around looking at Christmas lights, & the trip to the elaborately decorated mall & dept store where the “elves” would help the boys find just the right gift for everyone. ($5 limit!)  One year, as we drove home, it began to snow, (this was Tennessee, and snow in Dec was an exceptional delight!).  We stopped at the local college, where a massive evergreen tree was brightly lit.  It was very quiet, the snow falling in fat flakes, the ground & trees being quickly transformed into a landscape of white. Drawn to the base of the tree, under the tall branches, the wonder of lights & snow filtering through the fir, we were enchanted.  We sang Christmas carols, (and we do not sound like the von Trapp family!) but it was an exclusive moment.  The gift of the evening was amplified when, a week later, David brought home a picture he had drawn in school of the tree, the snow, the lights, the four of us.  He had been asked to illustrate the best gift he had received.

I received a tremendous gift two weeks ago.  Due to an allergic reaction to the Interferon (think: thousands of mosquito bites begging to be scratched!) my oncologist recommended we stop the treatment for a few weeks.  My first reaction was disappointment; somewhat counter-intuitive, I suppose.  The thought that the last three months of treatment & its outcome would be diminished if interrupted was overcome by the sudden realization that I was being given a GIFT.  Three splendid weeks of no side effects! Though this reaction has not been without challenges, the contrast of feeling energetic, clear headed, and WELL is remarkable.  Three weeks, at Christmas, feeling great……it has GOD written all over it.

God is in the business of giving gifts.  From Genesis to Revelation, His Word overflows with the testimony of His generous nature. Beyond reading it, I know it …..being a recipient of His profuse outpouring of blessings & gifts.  “Every generous act of giving and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father who made the heavenly lights, in whom there is no inconsistency or shifting shadow.”  His gifts spring from the unchanging, unconditional  love that is synonymous with His name. 

I’ve thought a lot about gifts lately…..the kind expressions of care that have arrived, without asking, to our home over these past many months.  The consideration & compassion from which they stem has overwhelmed Chip and me.  It is the love, the thought, the message behind the gift that touches us in an unforgettable way.  

My niece, Lacey, gave from her heart.   When she was a young teen, she was in the car with her mother when they approached a red light.  There, on the corner, was a homeless man: unshaven, dirty, asking for money.  Lacey asked my sister if they could please stop.  Pulling over to the curb, reaching for a few bills, she watched as Lacey took the money, walked over to the beggar, and put it in his hands.   Then Lacey stepped towards the man, put her arms around him & hugged him.  It was a gift from her heart, & the love behind it is indelible. 

CHRISTMAS!   It is here.  It IS the celebration of the birth of Christ…..God’s greatest gift, from His heart of love.  The well known verse, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, so that you and I would not perish, but have eternal life.”  (Jn 3:16)  “Eternal life, the gift of God  in Christ Jesus, “  as Paul states,  is offered at the excruciating  cost of His Son.  The smallness of my mind cannot comprehend a virgin birth, God in human form, His resurrection, nor eternity.   But my heart & mind receive and grasp it in the gift of faith.  

  

Next week,  the Interferon injections will resume, yet the received gift & the love behind it is clear, &  I celebrate this Christmas, grateful, humbled, & joyful for the God who brings such a gift….& eternally more.  MERRY, BLESSED CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Whispers

Strains of Mozart, mingled with centuries old carols and Church bells fill the frosty air of Austrian Christmas markets.  Dating from the Middle ages, the traditional Advent markets, festive with thousands of lights, lovely aromas of roasting chestnuts, gingerbread, and spicy hot gluhwein, create a calmly enchanting atmosphere.  Wandering through the avenues of radiant booths, there is an enveloping  lack of frenzy.  (Well, maybe that is the gluhwein!)   Advent, which means “coming” or “arrival,” focuses on the celebration of Christ’s birth, the “first advent,” while anticipating His return. Wandering through the Baroque markets, there is a perceptible tranquility of that expectation and preparation permeating the atmosphere. It is a lovely “stillness.”

The chestnuts and gluhwein are unfortunately missing, but my habitation is currently a stillness that I am learning to embrace.  The challenge to locate gaps of motionless time is too familiar to me, and no doubt, the allure of multi-tasking will always be at hand.  However, immobility has brought a refreshing refinement of being Still.  The process of simple thinking has been affected by the Interferon, as well as energy and physical abilities, yet furnished in their stead is a cherished calm.  The freedom of letting go and living squarely in the moment is energizing in itself! 

“This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel says: In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.”   Within the benefit of stillness, “settling down in complete dependence,” arrives.  The aspects of busyness to which I am drawn, are traded for finding the fullness of God in the quiet.  The gift of gripping that truth more firmly is timely…….as the frenetic pace of Christmas arrives.  The voice of “Advent” is instead amplified, and I am reminded of how God speaks to us.  “ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.  After the wind was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake, and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn’t in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper.” ( 1 Kings 19:11-12.)     Quiet is not an empty place; it holds out the fullness of “Immanuel,” God with us, as the stillness offers the gift of His presence and the great love that He whispers to our hearts. I am so grateful for this time that conveys the silence to hear them!

Meanwhile, conversation is returning, & exquisite times with granddaughters, family and friends have been a vital part of these past couple of wks and will greet the wks ahead.   It is a superb time to be still and thank God for dear ones that surround us!