Sounds of the Season

Arielle's birthday was joyous.  We celebrated with family a week earlier, so the actual day of her birthday was just hers to enjoy. She wanted to go to the mall (of course) and we had a mom-sister-daughter day full of laughter and fun. In the evening our friend Julia came over so the girls could practice for their concert at the retirement center on Sunday.  I came into Arielle's  crowded room and sat on the floor to hear them rehearse.  The lovely sounds of their guitars blending together as they played old carols made Christmas perfect for me. If that was all, it would be enough. Thank you, Arielle, for this gift.

 

For her birthday, I gave Arielle a different kind of gift.  It was a journal I kept since she was a baby. I started it at the time of our trip to China and then occasionally I would write more as she grew. Unfortunately, I kind of forgot about it in later years. We moms get busy and sometimes neglect what might be most beneficial to just get through the urgent needs of the day. Anyway, I hoped the journal would bless Arielle, that she would know how precious she was and still is to us.  I didn't even know if she would be interested in plowing through all that mom-baby talk.  I added one more entry at the end, for her 15th birthday.

On her birthday night I kissed her good-night with the full moon shining through her window and lighting up her beautiful face. She hugged me tight and said the journal was her best gift.  If there was ever any doubt, she now KNOWS how much she is loved!  Gift received.

On a bigger scale, do we sometimes live our lives wondering if our God really loves us?   Christmas is the time to remember that God sent his son to give us the gift of himself--to adopt us into his family, to love us unconditionally, and to be with us forever, even beyond the grave.  We need to reach out and receive this gift.  Read God's love letter to us and be blessed this season.