Gifts, gifts, and more gifts. TV commercials, ads on the
Internet, posters in stores, and radio announcements inundate us with advice
for gift-giving.
In his Christmas Eve message, my husband Dick challenged us
to become like children and focus more on receiving
than giving this Christmas. Dick then told about my Uncle Allen. Uncle Allen
fought in World War II and his experiences haunted him for the rest of his
life. Although always very generous with others, we never liked receiving
gifts. Presents we brought him remained unopened—some till after he died. He
never really received gifts.
While that seems strange to us, have we done the same thing
with the greatest gift anyone could offer us—God’s gift of salvation through His
Son, Jesus? God only asks that we receive
it! Have we accepted the gift of forgiveness for our sins? Or is it a gift we,
like Uncle Allen, have left unopened?
In the “Something to think and pray about this week” section
of SacredSpace.ie recently, William A. Barry, SJ, urged us, with God’s help, to
recall all the gifts God has given us throughout our lives. "Think of this
review as a way to retrieve some of our history with God. The Israelites often
did this sort of thing, [recalling] the great deeds of God."
Will you join me in this sacred walk down Memory Lane as a
way to more fully appreciate God’s gift to us? I was encouraged to try this by a quote Barry included from Frederick
Buechner: “It is
mainly for some clue to where I am going that I search through where I have
been. [It is] for some hint as to who I am becoming or failing to become that I
delve into what used to be. I listen back to a time when nothing was much
farther from my thoughts than God, for I believe that, even then, God was
addressing me out of my life as he addresses us all.”
As we celebrate Jesus’ birth, may we take the time away from
all the wrapping paper and gift bags to accept, open, and fully appreciate the perfect, precious,
priceless and personal gift God has given each of us.
Merry
Christmas!
Pam©2018 Pamela D. Williams
