[Faith-talk] Christmas Eve Daily Thought for Tuesday, December 24, 2013

[Paul]

Folks, I know that sounds a bit redundant, but to quote Pontius Pilate when he spoke to the Jews about Jesus:  "What I have written, I have written." Anyway how is your day coming? I hope that the frenzy of gift-buying in the malls or other stores won't cloud your minds about the true reason for the season, and that is to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Actually there is biblical precedent concerning gift-giving, as I taught in our senior citizen's center's Bible study.  Will give you the main themes of the study, and if you'd like the particular chapters and verses just write me privately at oilofgladness47 at gmail.com.  The study was broken down into three component parts:  man's gift to man, God's gift to man, and man's gift to God.  I know I could have added more verses to each category, but I'll let what I taught to be a springboard for you to do your own personal or group investigation of this topic.

Vicki Powell of Fuquay-Varina NC wrote the following short but to me a meaningful story.  It's entitled "Holiday Angels" and is rendered as follows:

It's their (angels') busiest time of the year.

What a way to spend Christmas Eve--visiting my husband, Rick, who was stuck in the hospital with food poisoning.  Two girls lugged a big black case into the elevator with me--a harp! "We had a harpest at our wedding," I said.

"I'm playing for the patients tonight," one of them explained.  The girls and I all got out on Rick's floor.

"You go," Rick said sleepily when I told him about the harpist.  "I don't have the energy."

I made my way to the gathering and heard the opening strains of "Silent Night." Suddenly, I realized how blessed I was.  I was healthy, Rick and I would go home tomorrow, and I was getting to hear my favorite hymn on my favorite instrument.  All because two girls volunteered to give up their own Christmas Eve.

"I wish my husband could have made it out here to hear you," I said when the girls had finished.  They winked at each other and dragged the harp into the hallway outside Rick's room to play "Silent Night."

This year finds me back in the hospital--as a volunteer.  The best way to spend Christmas Eve.

This story for me brings back a memory when I was a student at the Maryland School for the Blind.  I was cooped up in an infirmary room with an ailment that the health practitioner decided was too contagious for me to be around the other students.  It was several days before we kids left on our two-week Christmas and New Year's celebration.  I was feeling somewhat sorry for myself, cooped up as I was in the infirmary, when all of a sudden I heard carolers outside my window, singing one of the old familiar Christmas songs.  Right then and there I vowed to God and to myself that, if given the opportunity, I would do likewise for other shut-ins in nursing homes and hospitals.  By God's grace I've done that now for many years.

I hope that you enjoyed Vicki's story and my reminiscences.

And now may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, in these last days in which we live.  Lord willing, tomorrow's Daily Thought article will be about Christmas at the Billy and Ruth Bell Graham household in the mountains of western North Carolina.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul