In this post Robynn beautifully wraps up Christmas for us by giving us a glimpse of the gifts of the season.
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There was wrapping paper and bows everywhere. There was a lovely tree full of sentiment and ornament. But here’s the best of what I received this Christmas:
*Our friend from Christmas past, John, came through the week before Christmas Day. He brought a box full of various shampoos. I know it’s awfully random but it pleased me.
*Adelaide wanted to buy her “enemy” a present with her very own money. She thought it might change her heart toward this girl at school she struggles to like. I don’t know if it did. But it changed mine thinking she would do that.
*A friend, fellow church goer, close associate wrote me a letter a week before Christmas and apologized for pain she had caused me nearly 7 years ago. It made me cry. I had moved on–I had chosen to forgive without the apology. But her letter softened my heart and filled me with a quiet peace. She is released. And I am lighter for it.
*I have a kind mother-in-law who suffers great physical pain. She has for years. Seeing her face light up at the sight of her granddaughters blessed me. It’s a gift to have her in our lives and to live so close to them now is sweet privilege.
*A boy in Bronwynn’s class greeted me on the way to school the other morning with a finger pointing up to the sky. An enormous flock of geese flew overhead. Look at the Birds! I did. And my faith grew as I remembered Jesus cares. And I told Ryan to have a great day. He had made mine.
*A tattered envelope arrived all by itself on December 21. The bottom was mostly torn off, the contents hung precariously inside. And in it was an enormous check for an insanely large amount from sacrificial saints. And I cried.
*I loved seeing Connor, our 15-year-old son, decked out in his tuxedo, singing with 79 other public high school students, “Rejoice, Sing Praises to the Lord our God”. It was worship in an unexpected place. The force of it, the harmonies, the potential of it all brought tears to my eyes.
Grace just shows up! We are changed when we notice it and offer it hospitality.
That’s the essence of my one resolution this year: Notice. Invite. Embrace. Change.
What are your gifts from the season? Would love it if you shared with us through the comments!
Marilyn R. Gardner 