That awkward moment when you inadvertently crash somebody’s Christmas party.  You see, I was desperately searching for medicine for our sick adopted kitten.  To my surprise, I saw cars at the Feed Store although it was a Sunday afternoon.  I wasted no time hustling into the store, but to my consternation, there was music, food, and children.

“Would you like a free Christmas tree?” kindly asked the rancher who was trying to relieve the awkwardness of a stranger bombing their party.

Ouch.  Gulp.  I just stood there.  Do I tell him the awful truth?  “Uh, thank you, but we live in an RV.  No Christmas tree for us this year.”  And I beat a fast retreat.

I love Christmas trees.  In years past, our home was open to foreign students who helped us decorate our tree, came for a festive Christmas meal and made us feel like a million bucks with their gratitude and interest in American traditions.  But this year we won’t be hosting.  (An RV doesn’t lend itself to Christmas celebrations with multiple children.)  But we’ll get to be the ones hosted!  What a joy to be invited to the homes of all three of our adult children who live nearby. (Three other adult children and their families live farther away.)  Funny how life is.  We carry the torch and then suddenly it’s passed to the next generation.  And they are carrying it with gentleness and generosity.

This year we are reveling in the rewards of moving across the country to be close to family. Living in an RV for coming up on a year while we build our little retirement house is worth it when we get a text saying, “Cora (granddaughter) would like to see you guys today.”   This year we will watch granddaughters gleefully open their gifts and we will marvel again at the abundant blessings we enjoy in America in 2016.  We will remember that we have no guarantees and that next year may be different, but we will enjoy this present abundance to the fullest and thank God with grateful hearts.

We remember that many aren’t opening presents this year, so we are doing what we can to give to others less fortunate.  My mind drifts to those in prisons this Christmas simply because they honored Christ openly.  I’m so happy I can be a part of a group that brings legal help to them and financial help to their families.  It was a joy to sort canned goods this week for our church’s Christmas boxes headed for needy families.

Sitting with our families, I remember that many loving people invested in me to bring me to where I find myself today.  In my mind’s eye, I see my mother working long hours to provide for me, my grandmother, crippled tho she was, going to the flower beds leaning on her walker to name the flowers, point out the weeds and allow a small child to help keep her yard beautiful.  I see a grade school teacher who read classic stories aloud every day after lunch recess that nourished my love of reading and later, writing.  I see a 5th-grade teacher who drilled us in grammar and wouldn’t settle for sloppy writing.

I see Sunday School teachers who week after week made time in their busy week to prepare Bible lessons to nourish the souls of the young.  I see an old pastor who simply and clearly explained the Bible in a manner a seeking junior high girl could grasp.  And when my mother lay dying, another pastor provided the spiritual back-up I needed.  There was the wife of my youth pastor who took me to her house after my mother’s funeral, cooked for me and gave me much needed time away.  Then the kind college professor who smuggled french fries into his office to feed his hungry student assistant who didn’t have time or money to eat much while carrying a double major and working her way thru school.  Later there was the professor who stood in the hallway with tears in his eyes holding our firstborn who he had prayed for during my difficult pregnancy.

The women who mothered me in the absence of my own mother…elderly Grandma Ilika who was nearly blind but had us over for Sunday dinner when we couldn’t afford good food because I had been too sick and pregnant to keep my job and my husband was a  full-time student and a part-time worker.  And her daughter who saved my life and the life of the child I was carrying when I had an anaphylactic reaction to some medication.  And all these were just a few of those who helped to form me in my youth.  I could go on and on about those who right up to today are contributing hugely to my happiness and growth.

So what’s the point of all this reminiscing?  To bore you to tears?  No, it’s to motivate you to do two things.  Thank those who have walked the path of life with you.  If they have already gone to their reward, perhaps you could tell their family how their relative contributed to your life in a positive way.  And consider who you can reach out to in order to help them along their path.  You have much to offer. Others need you.

“Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.”  1 Timothy 6:17-19