The best gift

"You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving."

                                                                                            Amy Carmichael 

 (12/16/1867 - 1/18/1951)

We all have one - or two or three -

Favorite gifts I mean.

In the words of a song - "the best gift that I ever got, didn't really weigh a lot...the gift that drove me wild was a tiny newborn child".  That would have been true in my life in 1971 and in 1974.  Both of my girls were born just a few weeks before Christmas.  And then in 2002 - the alphabet blocks that Tray and Kristen presented our family with - B A B Y - spelled out another incredible gift.  My third grandchild would be born that next year.

Tray has always had a knack for giving.

When he was a little boy, he earned money to buy a waffle iron at a yard sale. When he was in college, he chose this train - something he knew I wanted when he was growing up, but never felt I could afford.  That was 20 years ago.

In 2014,  just before Christmas, I had a little "fender bender" that meant I was going to have a purchase another vehicle.  I remember that I remarked to Tray - "well, there goes your Christmas present".  I have taken the easy way out and given a monetary gift to Tray and his sisters for many years.  I did draw from my daddy's playbook however and found another pocket from which to get my children's gifts which I proudly put into three Christmas cards.  All the presents had been opened when Tray (as the family spokesperson)  gave me an envelope filled with the same bills that I had just given them.

We are approaching the fourth Sunday of Advent.

Which brings me back to the Amy Carmichael quote at the beginning of this blog. Born and raised in Ireland, Amy was the eldest of seven children who were brought up to love God and enjoy Him forever. When she was 22, she heard  Hudson Taylor, who founded the China Inland Mission speak about missionary life and determined that to be what God would have for her.  After a short time in Japan and Sri Lanka, she went to Bangalore, India where she ministered for the rest of her life. I have read that she spent 55 years in India without a furlough (the antiquated word used to describe "a time away from one's mission").  Her faith and love for God are in my mind beyond admirable.   When an injury confined her, she never quit ministering. With pen in hand, she shared challenging thoughts of the importance of serving the God she loved. The quote about loving and giving is one of my favorites.

As someone who likes to put my thoughts into words, sentences, paragraphs, etc, I can so identify and appreciate this "woman of faith."

And when I think of  "best gifts," they are the ones that come...with love.  After all, that's what God did.  He loved the world and gave His Son. . ." which makes the Christmas story as much about a cross as it is a manger.

May your life be filled with enough sunshine

to make you appreciate the shadows