What two dear recently deceased friends have given me for Christmas!

Middle Age Moments

What two dear departed friends have taught me about Christmas 2011

With the sad news that an old friend, the kind that we sing about on New years Eve, "....keep the old...one is silver and the other's gold," died suddenly last Sunday, and with my son in law's grandmother's death on December 4th, my thoughts have turned to my other relationships in a renewed way. 

Grandma Rose (93 years young) loved large and deeply touched my life when she didn't need to pay me or my family any mind. You see, she was a step-grandmother and I only knew her for the last four years of her life; she was one who treated each person as if they were the most important person in the world.  And my other friend's life of continual and consistent devotion to God and others is almost unmatched by anyone else I know and I've know a lot of people of different faiths or simply good people. My family was part of those "others" for about a decade. Reflecting on these two women's lives has caused me to listen to my own and others' feelings more reflectively, give up time and my schedule to lend a hand and heart to family members going through very difficult times, recognize my own frailties and resist those judgmental and materialistic (especially this time of the year) thoughts that fly through my mind. I invite these ways of thinking and feeling to take up residence in my life right now. I contemplate how it is that my heart is touched and people all over have been changed by the two women's actions. These gifts of God leave me with a deep and abiding wonder and appreciation for the miraculous ways He brings the light of His love to a fallen creation. It reminds me of why the shepherds diligently searched until they found the long awaited and sought after Christ Child in the manger in Bethlehem. Wonder that can't be fully expressed in words but is felt deep down within the soul causing the heart and mind to become energized to love more fully, more unconditionally. After all the tangible gifts are opened and the goodies are eaten, I wonder if what most people will remember most of all is the love that was exchanged. Our tree isn't decorated yet, gifts still need to be bought, and meals need to be planned.Today is the 18th of December. But my heart is calm, my relationships are deepened, and the gifts those two amazing women left for me are doing something in my soul that's changing my legacy.

By what gift were you influenced most in Christmases past or during this Christmas season?