Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Buddy in a bag, a Nordstrom bag at that. While I was getting gifts together and sorted the other day, Buddy climbed into one of the Nordstrom bags on her own. It was a photo op if I had ever seen one.

This morning before the next few days are busy with Christmas giving, Christmas treasures and ponderings, I thought I would take the opportunity to wish you all the best of Christmas.

Once all the holiday festivities are over, I know we will all be back checking in with one another. I look forward to reading your Christmas stories.

One of the best Christmas stories I have ever read is by Harper Lee. It is the story of her gift to the world, "To Kill a Mockingbird." The process and birth of Mockingbird is told in an article she wrote for McCall's. Harper was living in New York City and worked for an airline. She rarely had any Christmas vacation and when she had a few days, it wasn't enough time to go back to Alabama. In reality, there wasn't much for her to go back for in Alabama. She found herself spending Christmas with friends, who were also displaced Southerners. On Christmas morning as gifts were passed out, Harper was feeling a tad left out. Not one gift had been passed her way. After everyone had received their gifts, the friends asked Harper if she thought they had forgotten her. Her words stumbled as she professed I hadn't even noticed I hadn't received a gift. On the tree was an envelope with her name and inside it contained a letter from her friends. The letter said, quit your job, we are going to support you for a year so that you can get your book written. She was quite taken aback. That was too huge of a gift-what if they lost their jobs? How could they be this generous? The friends answered, we are young, if we loose our jobs, we will all get new jobs to support ourselves. Because of this sacrificing gift given by Harper's friends, we now have the much beloved and treasured story of Scout, Jem, Boo, and Atticus.

There are very few of us that can give that monetary type of gift, but there are other gifts that we can give that can make an impact. Encouragement, words, time, our full attention are just a few to mention. Give little things along the way to let others know there is a place in our hearts for them. When someone is going through an especially difficult time, do what you can to give them a lift in spirit during the arduous process. God can take these little things and multiple them like the loaves and fishes...enough to take care of everything and have a little left over.

Merry Christmas!

Love, Nancy