The Gifts of Christmas

A Christmas candle is a lovely thing; it makes no noise at all,
But softly gives itself away; while quite unselfish, it grows small.

- Eva K. Logue

Some people downplay giving gifts at Christmas, as if it were an "unspiritual" enterprise.  Others seem to relish gift giving (and receiving!) with inordinate gusto.  I wonder if, when gifts are given and received rightly, they aren't a shadow, an aftershock, of God's greatest gift of all to us: Himself, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.

Recently, we have been overwhelmed by gifts.  Here are just a few that made an impact:

• A friend took some pictures (see right) of the house we'll be living in when in Kabala. He was thoughtful enough to anticipate the anxiety of my children so he made sure he included some pictures of the school and some potential playmates for Maria, Jacob and Naomi.
• At 11 PM Christmas Eve, I phoned my dad because of a sewer problem in my basement.  He listened, helped insofar as he was able, and was simply 'there'.  That, in itself, was a gift. 
• Then, on Christmas Day, after my Mickey Mouse repair job the night before (which I was, strangely, quite proud about), after church, my neighbour dropped what he was doing to help fix our clogged sewer.
• We hope to go skiing with our kids in the next few days. We don't own much of our own equipment but our friends have lent us everything we need, except for pontoon-sized boots for my size 13 feet.
• An unexpected gift from Air Canada: Due to my own misunderstanding of humanitarian flight rules and despite my travel agent's warnings that Air Canada would never budge from their policy, they actually gave special dispensation and waived their flight-change fees so we don't have to pay extra to stop over in Vancouver to spend time with family. 
• Staff from our denomination, both in North America and on the ground in Sierra Leone, have been consistently working behind the scenes 'preparing a place' for us.
• We have been overwhelmed by the financial gifts received by CRWM for our time in Sierra Leone.  Terrace CRC has been generous.  Other BC CRCs have been generous.  Significant gifts have been received from private and corporate donors.  Friends and family have proven consistently supportive.  Strangers have pledged money and prayer.  As recently as yesterday, we received a financial gift that warmed our hearts.  But maybe the gift that stirred my soul most was from a neighbour, not connected to any church that I am aware, who came by a few days before Christmas to see us off.  She gave us a card and and some cash and asked us to use it for a charity of our choice when we're in Sierra Leone:  God bless you, she wrote.  God bless you, I thought!

Softly giving themselves away.  Growing small so that others may be enlarged. 
These are gifts that reminds me of Someone.