Christmas Presence

[The bit below I penned a few years ago to my treasured wife.  It all arises from grateful reflection over my own actual experiences of the JOYs to the World (to YOU as well as to us and to all His blest children around the earth) May these few words of remembering stir your own tastings of His Love through people in your life and prompt your appreciations to them and to God who blessed you with them.

Dennis Richmond abd.]

A brother once suggested that we view our lives through the lenses of our many Christmas mornings-

It has, one thinks, its merits and its blessings, and perhaps as well its warnings,

lest we fix ourselves in past refrains and miss the newborn song

which heaven sings each moment giv’n to carry us along

into the blest nativity of our Child and Son and King-

This Jesus who rises like a Daystar with each morn’s healing in His wings.

Ah, but in this point of present moment I do digress.

Let us proceed, with joyous expectation and love and tenderness.

One memory opens the door a bit to what I wish to say:

At the age of five or six, I paused and pondered on a snowy December day,

and thought of what my childlike heart had come so to believe-

It is better, said my church and soul and parents, to give than to receive.

It did not seem, with eager Christmas lists, to be the way that things were going.

so I sat with paper and with crayons and drew some Christmas pictures, and bundled out the back to where light snow was blowing,

and sold them door to door to startled neighbors on the street.

I told them I must do this so to buy my mother sweet

a gift for Christmas- I had noted she was in need of a new broom.

At the time, in my naïveté, I never did assume

that the ultimate success of my endeavor

(and their generosity) had so little to do with my doing something clever-

No, it was deeper than that; it struck a chord of love for a small boy’s mother;

Maybe softened some hearts to be grateful for each other.

It seemed in some way silly to try to give to her, who always gave so very much to me,

but I wanted so to let her know I loved her back- and even blest Nativity

so long ago in the hills of Bethlehem brought poor ornery shepherds to their knees

and bringing whatever they might treasure to try to please

a Holy Baby  (in need of nothing) with the overflowing of their hearts,

they gave their adoration for all the Glorious Gift they had received.

That’s how I felt, in some small way, and with all my little heart believed

that Love came down from heaven to a lowly stable,

and somehow God, through mothers and others, has shown His Love is able

to give our lives so much that we be kneeling

to thank Him as we can for the blessing and the feeling

of giving what we share of Love’s communion and its grace to each and all.

This peace-filled Christmas morning I recall

the many times I bow before my Savior and my King

to give Him my soft worship for the blessings that He brings

into the humble stable of my life 

by doing another miracle in making you my wife.

God gives so very much to me through YOU, and though my giving lack,

I want NOW so to let YOU know I LOVE YOU, LOVE YOU back!