Christmas Gifts

During the Christmas season, we cannot help but think of gifts. There is nothing like that feeling that emerges when the gift is just right. When we think of our very best gift, the gift that is the most meaningful and impactful, it conjures up different things for different people. It could be because of who gave it to us, or perhaps the meaning behind it, and why they chose us for this gift at this time. Where we are along life’s journey also plays a part in how we respond to it. I like to believe that every gift provides a symbol of Advent and the Christmas season – hope, peace, joy, love – any or all of these.

Ten years ago, in October 2012, Hurricane Sandy struck New York, New Jersey, and the northeast coast causing deadly flooding, mudslides and destructive winds to the east coast. As in any hurricane, loss of lives is the worst outcome, but there are many other losses that affect the people involved in these events. People lose their most special belongings, gifts with meaning that elicit special feelings and responses, never to be found again.

In December of that year, a small youth group from a church in Ipswich, Massachusetts traveled to Staten Island to provide help to the victims of Sandy. The youth group, under the leadership of the minister, parent chaperones and their young youth group leader prepared quickly, as if for an emergency, packing their oldest and warmest clothing, gloves, hats, extra socks and shoes, and masks. They were told to be willing to dispose of all of their clothes after their work was done.

Their destination was a house where they were to gather any belongings remaining and give them to the homeowner, an elderly woman. They arrived in front of a small house in disrepair, once a home with memories and love and family, home to a wife, mother and grandmother who had lost everything. She had lived there for many years, and had so much of herself in that home, and so much that had been destroyed. The woman simply wanted some of her memories to hold tightly and close to her heart. She appealed to them hopefully, and they gave her the faith she needed.

They moved in, with force, speed, and determination.  Upon entering the house, they encountered the raw feeling that is the middle of December, but they were inside and there was no heat, only dampness and the visible presence of mold and its accompanying odor. This was serious; the masks that they had brought with them would be necessary. They began their task.

Inside, they found artwork, special drawings that said, “Grandma, I love you,” and they took them from the refrigerator. They found a few photos of smiling children and adults, still in frames that could be cleaned and delivered to the woman waiting patiently outside. And, in her bedroom, they searched for something else. The young leader and students, searched endlessly for something very small, yet very special, a symbol of the bond this woman made years ago before moving into this house, a lasting bond. They searched for something that connected her uncertain future with her past, something that could make her remember, always, and bring her the peace she needed so much at this time. Deep down, in her dresser, amidst rubble and debris, they found it. They went outside covered in dirt and dust, but with big smiles, as they were proud of their accomplishment. And when they presented the elderly woman with this special item, her joy was worth their labor in the cold, wet, moldy house that was once a home. Their mission was a success.

And after the service trip, their young leader gathered them in front of the congregation who wanted to hear what this group had done, how they lived the mission of the church. With enthusiasm and pride, they told the story of their hard work in the cold and damp surroundings.

Then they shared how they were able to find one very special gift, a band of gold, the beautiful wedding ring of the woman, mother, and grandmother who had waited patiently outside of her house on a cold day in December. On this day, the gift was from a group of teens and provided her with the peace she needed to move ahead in her uncertain, yet now hopeful life, where joy could emerge. Years ago, this same gift, this everlasting item, was from someone else. And then, the gift gave her everything: hope, peace, and joy, but more than anything else, love.