Arms Filled With Christmas

I never expected the phone call from my aunt.
There was a leak in the apartment above me, her voice sounded very small and fragile.
They have to make repairs; they are moving me to another apartment for the time being.

My youngest child was just an infant at the time, and I knew that I wouldn’t be much help.
I was in constant contact with my aunt and heard about the whole process.
The management boxed her things and moved what needed to be moved to an above floor.

Uprooting an elderly person is very difficult for them.
She wanted to get back home but carpets needed to be replaced and walls needed paint.
She grew restless the longer it took.

Finally, about a month and a half later I got the phone call.
They are moving me back to my apartment tomorrow.
You don’t have to worry, they are doing everything.

My mind was at ease.
Christmas was coming and I knew she wanted to be settled in her own place again.
I bundled the baby and we set off for the city.

We made a few stops along the way.
I wanted her little apartment to look festive, cozy, Christmas-y.
I bought her a tabletop tree and some simple ornaments.

I added a poinsettia plant with brilliant red leaves and a small manger.
The coach, with my sleeping daughter, became my shopping cart of sorts.
I somehow maneuvered all the trimmings, the diaper bag, and some groceries.

I was not prepared for what I saw when I turned the key.
The management moved her back to her apartment, but they left all the boxes.
Everything that was special to her was haphazardly packed.

The boxes were lined up from the door to her favorite chair; a cardboard cave.
There was just a small aisle to walk through.
There was no room for my coach with my sleeping daughter so that stayed by the door.

There she sat in her favorite chair; looking old and tired, and so very sad.
I tried not to let her see my tears that I felt beginning to form in my eyes.
I walked over to her and hugged her.

Let’s brighten this place up, I said as cheerily as I could.
I put the Christmas music station on the radio and Bing Crosby was singing.
Bing and I could get this job done!

I began to meticulously unload the boxes while she sat in her chair and gave orders.
I smiled and worked feverishly, since four more children would soon be home from school.
Against the clock, Nat King Cole and I accomplished much on that gray day.

I stopped for a bit and made her lunch.
While she ate, I continued to work until my daughter woke up and needed to be fed.
Hunger abated, diaper changed, my little girl was just what my aunt needed.

She sang along with the radio and my daughter cooed.
I worked, unpacked, cleaned, polished, smiled, sang…and then I remembered the tree.
The tabletop tree with the simple ornaments.

I put the tree in the spot chosen by my aunt.
I opened the box of ornaments I had gotten for her.
They were called Adornments; each one depicting a name of Jesus.

The Bread of Life, the Vine, the Door, The Shepherd, the Light of the World.
The gray day seemed to brighten as I hung each Adornment on the small tree.
My mood was prickly because of my annoyance over the whole situation.

Prickly moods and Adornments do not seem to fit together.
I put the Light of the World ornament in the front; the figure of a candle reminding me.
I needed to see that more than my aunt did!

A simple tree and arms filled with Christmas.
The best kind of gift.
Loving another sacrificially; giving your time and yourself to them.

That kind of gift can’t be wrapped.
Not with ribbons and bows.
That kind of gift requires you to give Christmas away.

Isn’t that what God did?
Didn’t He come down from heaven with Christmas in His arms?

It is not about, what do you want for Christmas?
It is about, what can you give away for Christmas?

What little thing can you do that will lift the gray from someone’s life?
Who needs your time and attention without expecting anything back?

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

For God so loved…He gave.

Christmas is in our arms when Christ is in our hearts.
What can you give away this Christmas?