Tag: jesus

Gift-giving

As I prepare to join a church family’s Thanksgiving dinner, I ponder what I can bring as a gift of thanks. I’m bringing frozen cranberry salad to add to the meal, but that doesn’t seem to be the right gift to express thanks for their invitation. My first thought is a recycled item, for I’m known for that style of gifting. Perhaps coasters that belonged to Paul’s mother? No. It should be something simple, not even lasting. Ah-hah! Roses from the garden that survived our first snow. They won’t last, yet simple and beautiful. A gift of flowers reminds me of how when in Russia, people brought a bouquet when coming to the apartment. Yes, that’s the gift I’ll bring.

You may wonder why I’ll not be at home with family for Thanksgiving. Becky and Paul are in Illinois with Paul’s mother. Other Gearhart family members will gather there both Thursday and Friday. Our other children are not able to come here for various reasons. All good. A new friend I met at GriefShare found out I would be alone, and she invited me to their family gathering.

Thanksgiving to me is an introduction, a prelude, to Christmas, for we are thankful for God’s greatest gift for us, personally and for the whole world. “For God so loved that He gave.” Jesus is God’s gift of love for our needed redemption. That is the ultimate in gift-giving, and I am more than thankful. I cannot adequately express my gratitude for God’s wonderful gift of Jesus.

Now it’s my time to give as a Christ-follower. As one Christmas song reminds me, I give my heart. I give my whole self to God in an expression of thanks-giving for His gift of Jesus – for me, for my family, for the whole world. Yes, that includes you too.

Decorating for Christmas

Manger Collection from Jerusalem (plus)

Thanksgiving Day is sacred for the Gearhart family. We do not even listen to Christmas carols before that special day, nor do we start the Hallmark Christmas specials. But the day after: it’s an active time of getting the Christmas decorations out of storage. Paul is the one who distributes the totes to the appropriate rooms, and he untangles the cords of lights and even decorates the outside with lights, a manger scene, and a small tree he proudly found a few years ago. In the family room a lounge chair is moved to the sunporch and an artificial tree stands in that corner space. Becky starts to hang ornaments after she helps Paul strings the lights. Many of the ornaments have been handmade by family members. On the oblong sofa table Becky arranges her manger collection on the upper level. It’s quite a variety––from porcelain-like figures to a handmade Peanuts manger scene. Their cardboard village adorns the lower shelf amid cotton-ball snow.

I get to unpack our tote and put up our manger collection, mostly gifts from friends. Our favorite is made from olive wood, the one Bill bought in Jerusalem many years ago. We also have a wooden Christmas tree with lights that Paul handcrafted for us long before we moved to Indy.

One useful practice is of replacement value. As we move the year-round décor from tables, we pack those items in the emptied totes, ready to display after Epiphany on January 6th. And the next day is Becky’s birthday.

I close with this question: Why decorate if family will not be gathering on Christmas Day? Do the decorations count if only viewed by those who live in our home?

My answer is Yes! Decorations at Christmas seek to focus our attention on God’s greatest gift: Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, lived on our earth, died for our sins, risen to grant us new life.

The last verse of “O Holy Night” exclaims:

Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!