Good Gifts

Join me with a hot cup-of-something, (I’m drinking a Masala Chai today), and take a deep relaxing breath.

As I was packing my yellow bag for the coffee shop today, I watched my son Nash drop in some of his favorite toys for Mama to bring to work; his treasured Lego helicopter, a yellow screwdriver, a blue wooden bus and to top it off he stuck a couple plastic screws into my pockets. “Ready go, Mama!” My favorite, and frequent, way to head out the door. 

Yesterday morning I was sitting in the comfy blue chair that graces our living room. We are currently renting a semi-furnished home and in it is a rectangle patterned blue chair that is big enough to sit criss-cross-apple-sauce in and it also swirls. If i’m sitting in this chair looking forward, I see two giant windows which frame three big beautiful trees that are home to a few very energetic squirrels and a red cardinal. However, if I look down to the lower left of the chair, just a few inches off of the floor is another window that's rather small.

As the tip of my new buttery gold pen (thank you to my dear friend Kaleigh) hit the lines of my journal, my thoughts were consumed with how Christmas gifts can sometimes bring disappointment - and what I really mean to say is that the lack of a Christmas gift due to loss or change can bring disappointment and heart ache. The loss I'm thinking of is the loss of a loved one who is with our Heavenly Father, perhaps a broken relationship in which you are praying for repair, or a loss of relationship all together. No matter the kind of loss, this void and longing for a special gift from a special someone can bring a heavy sadness.

As I was thinking this through while writing to the Lord, I suddenly heard a noise from the small window down on my left. The sweet singing of a Tennessee song bird hit my ears with a direct line to my heart. And because I know that God knows just how much I love to hear the birds singing in the morning, I felt in that moment that this was a special personal gift from Him during my moment of vulnerability and ache. As I write this now, I'd also like to note that the sun hadn’t risen yet, but the bird's song started even in the darkness. I want to be just like that bird, singing a sweet song even as the darkness remains, awaiting the sure promise of sunrise. 

With this beautiful and gentle nudge from God, I thanked Him for the gift of the song bird in the window. I couldn’t help but continue to think about all of the “missed” gifts God gives me each and every day. Sometimes I see them, but often times I don’t because my mind is caught up in immediate needs like who needs a snack or their undies changed. As I sat in the blue chair I looked around and started counting my gifts: my family's health, our fridge full of local produce and meat, the crafts hanging around the room that my son and I have been making for Christmas, the simple slowness of the morning. God’s gifts are real, abundant and right here in front of us. And they are easy to see if we flip on the heavenly view.  "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17

As we head into Christmas week and if your heart has an ache from a void or a loss, I pray that God blesses you with special gifts, just for you. Special moments, special sounds, smells, tastes. I pray that we all can take in His presence with all of our senses. As I started reading through the Old Testament last year, I felt the need to highlight the line “a sweet savour” (usually followed by: "unto the Lord") each time I saw it. It is repeated over and over again (86 times in the OT), so I felt it must be important. And after thinking on it, I drew the conclusion that God was clearly pleased through scent via the offerings, the one and only God who created us in His image with that same satisfaction through scent. Our senses are powerful and created directly by the Lord for a purpose! What a gift.

Christmas is a time where all of our senses can feel the season - the Christmas lights and sparkly ornaments fill our eyes, the exceptional food tingles our taste buds, the carols and music awaken our ears, hugs from our loved ones comfort us with touch. God created our senses for enjoyment (Ecclesiastes 8:15) and fulfillment and He gives us a beautiful guide in Phil. 4:8 on the kinds of things to fix our minds on:

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."  and what we fix our minds on can becomes the treasure of our hearts (Matthew 6:21).

Over the next two weeks of the Holiday season, I want to stop and take in, with all of my senses, God’s gifts, His goodness, His completeness and His nearness through moments of quiet and loud wonderful moments of making memories. 

Some of us may only have God alone to cling to this season, some may have a home filled with voices. No matter where we find ourselves, may the Holy Spirit illuminate our hearts, reveal love for ourselves so we can love our neighbors fully, and fill in the cracks in our souls. 

Wishing you all a very blessed and Merry Christmas! Enjoy a couple of snap-shots below.

Blessings, 
Hannah
Daughter of God, Wife, Mom, Entrepreneur

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We built a Christmas Cross in place of a Christmas Tree this year! $40 project at Home Depot.

I bought a silk bonnet for bed and it’s been a GAME CHANGER for my hair!! LOL

A homemade bowl of Ramen with local Filet Mignon!