Searching for the Perfect Gift

Searching for the Perfect Gift

We’re still over a month away from Christmas, and yet today I asked CB about her Christmas wish list.  We gift-givers want our efforts to be rewarded with joy and a smile. 

A Story:

Such was the case for Joshua.  He was eight and poor.  He attended an event one night for which he was woefully unprepared.  He showed up in his best rags of clothes, and his drum.  It wasn’t much as drums go, but my goodness, how he could make that drum talk. 

You see, he followed some sheep herders to a small barn and was witness to the birth of a baby.  The parents of the baby – well, they were poor also, it appeared.  There were little enough warm clothes for them and for the baby. 

“If only …” thought Joshua.  To finish his thought, his ‘if only’ was a wish and a prayer to do something warm and comforting for this family, especially the newborn baby.  But what?

The shepherds kept him toward the back, out of the way, but this grew tiresome, and he had an idea.

He broke free from the shepherds and approached the mother.  He bent down and whispered in her ear.  The man, her husband, was busy in another corner of the barn and didn’t notice what was happening. 

And then he played his drum.  It was a soft rat-a-tat-tat, and he played it so very skillfully. 

You see, he was willing to lay down the only earthly treasure he had, and played his drum for this newborn baby.  He gave what he had at hand.

Now, you know this is a make-believe story based on The Little Drummer Boy.  But what’s at the heart of it all is this … we’re never empty handed when we stand before God in the manger, or in life.  We offer what we have.  We give whatever is ours to give.  And we do it willingly.

The odd and obscure become moments of grace and glory when offered with a loving heart.

I hope we all remember that in these beginning days of this Christmas season.

This is my

morning reflection.

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P Michael Biggs

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