Friday, December 14, 2018

The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven. His eyes behold, his gaze examines humankind. Psalm 11:4

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End of week two of Advent. Christmas preparations are well underway. For a child, excitement builds, and waiting gets harder.

My Mom loves Christmas – not only the celebrations with family and friends but also the preparations and anticipation. When I was a child, our home would be completely decorated by now: manger scene set up, candles and wreaths in position, even the live tree up by mid-December. Now the focus shifted to gift wrapping. My favorite memories revolve around this event. The dining room table was covered with brightly colored paper and spools of ribbon. Christmas music played in the background seemingly all day, usually Bing Crosby or Perry Como. Care was taken in selecting the right wrapping for each gift as appearance was part of the gift. As I grew older, my role as helper grew also: from putting my finger in just the right place for the bow to be tied tightly to assisting with the tape and selecting the paper to finally being entrusted with wrapping some of the gifts. Looking back, I remember the warmth—not just from the heating system but from the feeling of love in the room. Love for each person as their gift was wrapped, love of the music, love for what the season brought.

God is in his temple, beholding humankind. His gift of love has been prepared far in advance and soon we celebrate its delivery. Just as the morning light streams into the sanctuary above, God’s gift streams into our lives. Rejoice!

Dianne Moore