Sunday, December 26, 2010

Part of the Gift: Day after Christmas

Art by Eloise Wilkin

An African child listened carefully as her teacher explained why Christians give presents on Christmas Day. "The gift is an expression of our joy over the birth of Jesus and our love for each other," she said.

When Christmas day came, the little girl brought the teacher a seashell of lustrous beauty. "Where did you find such a beautiful shell?" the teacher asked. The child told her that there was only one spot where such extraordinary shells could be found. When she named the place, a certain bay several miles away, the teacher was speechless. "Why, it’s gorgeous . . . wonderful, but you shouldn’t have walked that long distance for a gift for me." Her eyes brightening, the girl answered, "Long walk part of gift."

When you look at the living room today, and wonder why you worked so many weeks for an event that lasted only one day, remind yourself: "Long walk part of gift."

6 comments:

Diane said...

Thanks for the perspective. So true.

Raejean said...

A great way to put all that goes into a gift!

Carolyn Howell said...

Thanks to Bishop Bobo I've been peeking in on your blog.
Marvelous!!!

I miss you. Please come home soon. Carolyn Howell xoxo

Heidi said...

That's so good. My house looks very destroyed at the moment- pieces and parts everywhere. It's all a gift. The no yelling, no making anyone clean up, just enjoying the moment for a whole day. It's so hard when you start thinking, "who's going to clean all this up?" knowing it's you for the next 3 weeks. One day they'll figure that out too. And because I now have, thanks for the many magical Christmases. Truly my memories of Christmas are awesome - even when we watched Terminator & had the flood of potato skins & peas. Great stuff!

Tracy said...

That, my dear friend is a message to remember...thank you!

Susan Adcox said...

That's a phrase I'll try to remember for future Christmases!