A GIFT IS A GIFT

 Last week I gave a short devotional to the sweet ladies at The Well.

It began with a reading of O Henry's classic short story, The Gift of the Magi.  In case you slept through English class during those school years, I will remind you of the story.  The scene takes place in England, and the characters are a young couple who are struggling to make ends meet during difficult times (this seems to be a re-occurring theme throughout history).  In spite of the struggle, they felt so fortunate to have two priceless items in their possession.  The wife had a beautiful head of hair that fell splendidly below her knees.  Most of us women understand the value of a "good" head of hair.  The man owned his great-grandfather's beautiful gold watch.  It was so splendid he consciously avoided pulling it out in a showing manner.  After all how odd that one so poor should own such a splendid watch.  To hasten along to the point, they both sold their prized possessions to buy their loved one a gift.  She bought a fine gold chain to replace the worn leather strap which held his heirloom watch.  He bought bejeweled beautiful combs for her fine hair.  Neither of them could use their gifts, but the story is about the meaning behind gift giving not the gift itself.

In my mind, you become an adult when you finally are more concerned with selecting gifts for others than the gifts you desire to receive.  I have a strong philosophy on gifts.  A gift is a gift--it is often tied up with strings, but it has no strings attached.  Once I present the gift, I also relinquish control of how the gift is used or not.  

NOW~we are headed to the point of the devotional.  The tradition of gift giving at Christmas was begun by The Magi--wise men for you who are unfamiliar with the "King James" translation.  We all know the gifts were very valuable.  We all know the lengths the Wise Men endured to deliver the gifts.  What we don't know---it is NOT addressed in The Word -is what did Mary and Joseph do with the gifts?  Did they dash to the nearest pawn shop and cash in -I am pretty sure they could have used the funds--after all they just traveled many miles on a donkey, resorted to staying in a smelly stable, and to top it all off had another mouth to feed.  Did they put it in a closet and hide it away for a "rainy day"?  Did they put them in a college fund for the baby's future education?  What did they do with the wonderful gifts.  It is never addressed in The Word.  What does this tell us?  In my mind, the giving of the gift and the reason behind it was more important than what became of the gift.  Mary and Joseph could do whatever they wished with these magnificent gifts.  All we need to understand is why the gifts were given and the true value of the invaluable.

We have evolved Christmas into a gift giving frenzy.  Not unlike children, we are consumed with the buying of gifts which in most cases will be a temporary high headed for a place on the shelf of the forgotten.  Gifts are given as an expression of love and esteem.  Personally I prefer little gifts such a pictures of the grands, or even better an experience or adventure-time spent together.  It really is not about WHAT you are giving, but your attitude when giving.  

The greatest Christmas gift was the reason for the season--the gift of the Christ child.  God on Earth.  The Father's Lamb.  Our Get Out of Jail Free card.  What greater gift was ever given? 

I invite you to not become embroiled in frantic gift searches; to put aside any guilt over gift disappointment; and instead remember why you are giving the gift.  Be one with "The Little Drummer Boy", give your best--and give it while being mindful of the purpose of the gift~ a reminder of your love.  

the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

Matthew 2:9-12

LOST AND STOLEN MOMENTS

 I saw a post on social media early this morning~ My friend had missed her niece's wedding due to concerns about exposure to "THE VIRUS".  She has health risks that puts her in the category of those who need to avoid infection.  To add insult to injury, the live stream of the wedding went down before she could catch a glimpse of her beautiful niece walking down the aisle.  Another stolen moment-thanks to "THE VIRUS".  WHAT a disappointment, and how can we possibly take away any good from this loss?

As the months of the year of "THE VIRUS" have slowly passed by, it is easy to become mired in the deep well of What I am missing? .

In an abundance of caution, I have limited exposure as much as possible, but I am weary-most of us are weary- of feeling life is slipping by.  What moments of great importance are being stolen as the days whirl by waiting for a vaccine, a cure, or any glimmer that this will soon be over?

As I thought through this, I remembered, there have been stolen moments in my life due to other circumstances.  My father died when I was 14~I really barely knew who he was because your emotional intelligence level is low for most of us as children.  I missed those moments of figuring out just who he was.  I am left to fill in the gaps by what I am told, what I can remember, and what I hoped was truth. A lifetime of moments were stolen by his early passing.

I missed some of the firsts with my children, because I always worked.  Their sweet babysitters were sometimes the ones to witness those firsts.  I have to consciously set aside "mother guilt" and remind myself, others- who were stay at home moms, also missed some of the firsts due to different circumstances. Unless you glue yourself to their sides 24/7, you will miss some of those firsts.  Some of the firsts, I really am glad I missed, such as the first time they decided to climb on the roof and jump down to the trampoline (OH THE JOY OF RAISING BOYS).

As I have watched my children raise their children--the precious grands--I realize how many stolen moments of joy were sacrificed by me in the quest to have it all together.  OH, my house was clean, the clothes were washed and put away, food was on the table, but what moments of fun and play were stolen with the quest to appear as if I had it together.  I am happy to say, my children have not made that same mistake~they realize what is most important.

It is easy to become bogged down in regret, when we make a choice to mourn and dwell on what we feel has been stolen from us or lost in the shuffle.  The post, I alluded to in the first paragraph, also contained a testament to all the moments of joy she had not missed when watching her niece grow up.  As I thought this over, I realized we have a clear choice of how we react to stolen or lost moments~we can allow those moments to take the lead in our thoughts, or we can mourn them and turn back to those joy filled moments we did experience.  We get to choose where our mind goes when we reflect on our lives.  Am I going to allow the few years which have been REALLY DIFFICULT to become the benchmarks of my life or am I going to remember the MANY REALLY GREAT years and be thankful.

YES, we can all agree 2020 has been tough--one of the toughest for our generation.  Yesterday, I shared with two young friends what my mother and daddy's life looked like during WW II.  All the men had marched off to war, and they were not only separated for long periods of time, but also had to experience all the difficult moments during that time alone.  I can truthfully tell you, neither parent spent a great deal of time dwelling on those years.  We certainly heard some of the stories, but it did not take center stage in their lives.

My friends who served in Viet Nam witnessed horrors beyond our imagination.  They will tell you bits and pieces of those years, but they do not take center stage in their life journey.  Instead they speak of the good years of marriage, children, and relationships, fun trips, great adventures, and lives well lived.

SO as we near the end of this year, it will certainly go down in the history books. We will stop and remember those we lost, those who were extremely ill, and the economic consequences of all that has happened, but it will not be the only story to come out of this year.  I, for one, had a new grandson born during this time.  There are people experiencing high moments of life during 2020, just as "The Virus" has been a low.  

What am I trying to say---

Stay in the moment 

Do not live in regret

Relish the good moments

Mourn and move forward from those lost and stolen moments

Look toward the future with the promised hope of better days.

A FAMILY DIVIDED

I have purposefully unplugged from all the political turmoil.  I am not commenting.  I am not putting my two cents in---not even one cent.  I do not reply when you comment on your leanings.  I am staying away from the fray, out of the storm, and choose instead to fly under the radar. My profile is SO low, my nose is leaving a channel in the dirt.

My family is a family divided when it comes to politics.  We are conservative, liberal, and some are even way off the beaten path.  We all look through different eyes, we all think differently, and we even live very diverse lives.  We are sometimes in opposing camps when it comes to politics.  Nothing wrong with that---I respect their right to believe differently from me.  It does not affect my love for them--one iota. We can agree to disagree with no malice.  Politics will never supersede family.

The world does not seem to hold this view. Politics has become a fighting sport.  I have never enjoyed blood baths or human carnage.  

There is a line of thinking that if the side I support does not win, the world as we know it will come to an end.  Some say taxes will rise and others believe we need a flat tax.  Some say we need universal health care, but I have never heard of anyone being refused necessary treatment.  Some say we are losing all our freedoms, and others say we have never been free.  I have had others tell me, from both sides, the country we live in will never be the same.  

I agree the country we live in will not be the same.  It has never stayed the same. Check out your history books.  The government was formed with checks and balances.  We do not live in a dictatorship-one branch of government does not determine how we are ruled.  It takes all three--to make, implement, and interpret the law.  Whoever is president-when the final vote is counted-the sun will come up the next day and the world will keep turning.

Most important~either you believe in an omnipotent God or you don't.  HE ALREADY KNOWS who will be our next president.  HE ALREADY KNOWS our future.  I trust that God will use the next president to carry out His plans for me--for our country.  HE is never surprised and HE can use ALL THINGS for Good for those that love Him and are called according to His purpose.  

I have already voted~and I have no intention of saying who I voted for.  I respect your right to vote your conscience and I hope you respect mine.  Wednesday morning--I am still going to think of you with great fondness and admiration--and I do not need to know for whom you voted.  I love you no matter who the next president is!

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

Proverbs 19:21

THE CIRCLE OF LIFE

 I seem to be missing on the blogosphere more than present in the past few months.  Life has taken many strange twists and turns-as we all realize~and I am here but also profoundly affected by all that has transpired in this year.

Unlike this slogan appearing on shirts all over America, I firmly believe there is something to be learned--some lesson to gleam from all that has transpired this year.  One particular thing I have been reminded of is to not ask

"What ELSE could possibly happen?"

That seems to be just asking for trouble!

After being locked down tight since March 13, I left Labor Day and spent the next six weeks helping #1 Daughter with Virtual School.  I came away with a deep admiration for teachers--I already admired them--but virtual school took it up a couple more notches. 

I could write a book on the four weeks of sitting by a kindergarten students elbow "doing school."  

I came home nine days ago to isolate for 10 days before heading to help with #7 grand.  After six weeks of being with a family of six and all the wonderful chaos that entails--it has been quite an adjustment to being home and completely alone.  Looking forward to my time helping with this little wonder~

One of the things I have observed while gone and then isolated, is the circle of life continues--whether I am in the midst of it or not.

A dear friend's beloved father in now in hospice with days left on this earth.  He is a wonderful and Godly man-beloved by all who know him.  Certainly one of the finest men I have ever known.  His family adore him and are searching for how to let him go and how to go on without him.  What a wonderful and remarkable legacy.

So I head to Austin to help with one who is just beginning his trek through this crazy world and others are sitting by the bedside of the loved one who has lived a long and productive life trying to help him leave this world wrapped in a cocoon of the love they feel for him.  The circle of life is a beautiful thing--even in the midst of all that is happening in this eventful year.  A year for the record books filled with the every day trek through life.  Don't wish away what might seem to be a nightmare of a year---embrace the ordinary and remember the gift of life is a blessing.  No matter how bleak things may seem-there is always joy found in the midst of life and lessons to be gleamed in every circumstance.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, 

plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

JUNK AND TRASH

 My long time readers will all remember I have a "thing" about the local landfill.  TRULY, it is a fascinating place!  Perhaps in a former life I drove a trash truck?  One thing is for sure--one man's junk is another man's treasure.  If you don't grab that treasure off the side of the road, once it is headed for the landfill---it's a lost cause.  They have quite an efficient operation.

I must confess, in my lifetime, there has been quite the evolution of how we handle our trash.  As a child there was the oil drum way behind our house where we took the day's trash. When I scooted back the slightly ajar lid to dump the trash can, I was greeted quite a few times by a snarling possum.  This ALWAYS led to a scream, throwing the trash straight up in the air, and running for my life.  THEN Momma sent me back to pick up said trash, clean up my mess and finish the job-even though death by a mad possum was virtually guaranteed.  OH, THANK YOU, that I no longer have to tackle snarling possums to get rid of the trash.  (THOSE BUGGERS HAVE NEEDLE SHARP TEETH!)  After successfully dumping the trash in the barrel, I struck a match and set the papers on fire that we lined the can with.  Hopefully all the trash burned after leaving the lid ajar so the fire could get some oxygen.  I don't remember the schedule, but the town garbage truck came by and emptied the ashes and what remained in the truck to be taken to the city dump occasionally. (We didn't have landfills, we had dumps where the trash was then burned again).  The EPA was probably created from the air being filled with toxic fumes from dumps all over the country.

Fast forward to today.  Trash is an industry-well the handling of our trash.  This past week I cleaned out my outdoor storage house and ended up with a truck load of junk.  With a borrowed truck, I loaded the junk up and headed to the landfill.  LESSON LEARNED--do not go on a weekday mid-morning.  The parish and city trucks were also arriving with their first or second loads and I ended up in a line between them all.  WHAT must they have thought?  Sorry I am off track.  First you have to stop on the scale to be weighed before proceeding to unload your truck.  In my former life of a decade ago, I went to the landfill regularly to take my yard trash in my role as yard girl and grounds keeper.  It was an easy process--I was on first name basis with the gate keeper.  They don't know me anymore--sadly.  

I proceed to the shed where you dump the trash and sat in line between all the trucks.  FINALLY it is my turn, and I get ready to back up.  The "man in charge" sees its a lone woman in the midst of all the trucks and immediately stops my backward progress.  He make me line up the truck again--I still don't know why I need to move over 3 feet- and then directs me  back.  The WHOA! shook the entire truck.  He proceeds to help me unload my junk-I guess for the sake of me not being there all day.  At the bottom of the heap were some old metal stakes.  "Is that metal?--You gotta take that to the metal bin, Lady!"  I'm staring at him like I've been hit over the head with a metal stake--"WHERE is the metal bin?"  Lady--just follow this road and at the stop sign you can't miss it just right across the road.  He was right, but the dead give away was all the metal on the ground around the bin. So one more stop to "chunk" (proud to say I can still chunk) the stakes up and into the bin.  Back to the scale to weigh again and then I get the old wave which is the high sign for you are dismissed.  I must admit disappointment.  If anyone was ever perfect for a position at the landfill, it was me.  I am a model of efficiency and order.  There was no job offer--only a smile and dismissal.

Back in the old days, we would occasionally take a load to the dump and just back up to the pile and throw it on.  They don't let you anywhere near where the actual burying is going on.  The junk is offloaded into a 18 wheeler and it takes it to the site.  I am certain there is good reason for this.  Perhaps they don't trust old ladies driving pick up trucks to stay out of the way of the tractors or create chaos.

The trash we accumulate in our lives has become quite an industry.  From the time you throw something in the plastic bagged garbage can to the ultimate disposition in the parish landfill there is an intricate process of how things are handled.  I am a big recycle fan and actually have more recycle trash than garbage.  Wouldn't we all be  better off if we were careful of the trash we accumulate?  Who wants there life filled with trash?  Who wants our world filled with trash?  I am not speaking just of the physical trash, but the emotional and spiritual junk we are often burdened with.  What is your process of ridding yourself of that junk?  Food for thought.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up

Hebrews 12:1

VIRTUAL LEARNING

 Truly, I have been at such a loss these past six plus months with limited volunteer opportunities.  Being a part of the "vulnerable crowd" certainly has its downfalls and at the top of my list has been limited social contact.  Being an introvert does not mean I do not enjoy and even crave social interaction.  Instead I just need time to recharge my batteries between dives into the throngs of humanity I dearly love.

I miss conversation, but I especially miss hugs--touches--physical contact.  It has not been easy to resist grabbing others and wrapping them in a smothering hug. It just does not seem normal.

Well things are about to take a big turn in my little world--FOR THE BETTER!  I am about to embark on the "virtual learning" journey.  All four of the younger grands are going to have a month of stay at home learning experience.  This past spring, the education community was caught off guard, I believe they are ready for the challenge with the start of the new school year.  All my education friends tell me there will be ways to monitor participation and the truancy officer will come see you if you are not present and accounted for each day.

With four children in four different grades, #1 daughter has her hands full.  I love volunteering in the schools and am kept from that passion with the new COVID rules in schools here.  WELL---I volunteered to come help with The Jennings School  until they are allowed to go back to in person school.  "Fun Lulu" is being replaced by "Get the task done" Lulu.  We will divide and conquer those little scholars!  AND as an added bonus, I am pretty sure I will get a hug or two along the way.

NOW, in all honesty, I am more than a little intimated at times by technology.  We will have four computers and tablets plugged in to four different sites.  It makes my head spin to think about it!  Hopefully the two oldest grands will be able to navigate their way through the cyber world to where they are supposed to be.  BUT, the thought of 8:00-3:00 need to stay on the right cyber page is slightly frightening--well honestly-down right scary!

While thinking over how this will look when school starts, I realized I have actually done quite a bit of virtual learning over my lifetime.  Whenever I am plugged in to the correct "Main Frame", things have run pretty smoothly.  The times that have been not just rocky but at times like riding out a hurricane have been when I lost my connection, forgot to power up, crashed the system by some foolishness.  Thank goodness I am always allowed to reboot and power up again.  

Virtual learning is old as time itself.  Thankful to have a loving teacher with infinite patience as I traverse this old world.  Always learning--always learning!

It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.

John 6:45

LIFE ON SHIFTING SANDS

 This pandemic and the current state of the world has me vacillating a lot between

peeping out of my den to see if things have returned to normal ( I KNOW there is no such thing as normal)

AND

When I get a whiff of what is currently happening, I want to bury my head in the sand.

Is it any wonder I am having a tough time writing?  

I NEVER in my wildest dream considered the world would look like it does today!

Some things, though, have not changed

We have always lived in a hurting and broken world

We all desire to be loved

AND

The world may be quickly changing and shifting around us---we never know what the next moment may bring, but God NEVER changes.  He is our hope!

I am the LORD,

and I do not change.

Malachi 3:6