MEMORIES......

"They can't take that away from me."

We are living in increasingly difficult days. The current recession has everyone wondering if we'll ever recover from this period of financial loss. I, like everyone else, am feeling the effects of higher prices at the grocery stores....and am rethinking my Christmas giving this year. It seems like a sin to spend money on "things" to give to others, when those things are usually not what the recipient would have chosen, doesn't need, but doesn't want to hurt your feelings by not using/wearing the gift!

Thinking back over past years, I can remember "leaner" days when we had far less than we have today. I can remember the hours and days spent making gifts for those near and dear to me....a frilly party apron for Mom, a cross-stitched pillow case for Grandma, robes and knitted slippers for the kids, jars of home-canned jellies, pickles and relishes for those brothers who always looked forward to receiving them, homemade cookies for those precious neighbors. "Little" things by today's standards, but gifts from the heart, made with love, and bathed in prayer for the person for whom they were being made!

As I look back, I recall the greatest gift of all....the reason we celebrate Christmas....the birth of our Lord and Saviour. Somehow I think that He would tell us that the most valuable gift we can give this Christmas season is TIME. Perhaps, no doubt, it is because as I have aged (75 years old this year!), I have mellowed and reflect on how much visits, phone calls, and cards from friends mean to me. I received my first 2008 Christmas card yesterday from dear friends who live in Vermont. They were the first people we met when we moved to Raleigh in 1956 and we spent many hours working, playing and worshiping together. Although they left the area almost 20 years ago, it's a joy to hear all about what's been happening in their lives for the past year.

Although I DO MISS spending time with extended family during the holidays, I know that our hearts are attuned to the meaning of the holiday. And we can all look forward to future days when the pain of arthritis, fibromyalgia, diabetic neuropathy, and dimming eyesight won't prevent us from celebrating TOGETHER again, for we will have new bodies, and will be in the presence of our Lord and Saviour Jesus.

So, for those of you who are reading this who think that you really have nothing to celebrate this year, I admonish you to "turn your eyes upon Jesus", bow down and confess your sin and ask forgiveness. I guarantee that if you do that you can look forward to Christmas with the knowledge that "THE BEST IS YET TO BE"!