You continue to open your gifts, one by one. Reading each little note before you open the trimmings around each memory. Some of the gifts seem small at first. Some, some of the deepest memories seem large, and maybe a bit painful to reminisce upon, at first. Some of the gifts are obvious treasures when you open them! Some of these gifts take a bit more of pondering, meditating and prayerful introspection to discover their sweet significance in your life. But as you take the time to do so, all of life’s puzzle pieces will begin to make perfect sense.
Some of the gifts were not what you wanted, hoped for or ever dreamed of! Now, you begin opening another gift, “Hope in the Mourning”, you realize that in that trial of your faith that pervaded this past year, lingering from previous years perhaps, you discovered a ray of hope through which to perceive your life from a whole new (and different) perspective! That’s when the gift of “Hope in the Mourning” arrived on the scene!
Each month of 2019 came and went. The year seemed to fly by. The months, the weeks, the days, the hours, the minutes, now gift wrapped into memories that you will carry forward as lessons learned, experience gained, wisdom fashioned in your heart and mind.
Truly, from all these experiences, you have learned to translate some of the most challenging experiences through the gift of “Gratitude in the Mourning.” You turn the card over carefully as you ponder this next gift and read,
“Praise and thanksgiving
for the good gifts that keep pouring…
teaching me midst troubled times…
Gratitude in the Mourning…”
Now you visualize all your opened gifts. Take a moment to surmise each carefully unwrapped surprise. Some of the most unwanted or unexpected gifts are now urging you to look deeper within them! You find, as you have opened these many gifts, that the blessings have truly outweighed the sorrows. You begin realizing that God has truly saved the greatest gift for last…
And so, you now may visualize yourself kneeling beside this final Christmas Gift. Your fingers tremble as this is the biggest gift of all, reserved for this moment. You are not sure what to expect. As you take the lid off this box, you discover many more gifts nestled inside. Each one with different colored wrappings, all adorned w beautiful bows both large and small. Before opening any of these gifts, you open the card. It reads:
“Every time you blessed a friend
Offered each soul a gift of love
All your gifts return to you
As Tender Mercies from Above.”
As you begin to open each one of these last remaining tiny gifts, you behold the memories of when you laughed with a friend, smiled at a complete stranger, forgave someone who hurt you, pardoned a debt from the one who owed you more than they could ever possibly repay you. Each of these smaller gifts are becoming brightly lit memories of the tender mercies that you gave to those who experienced firsthand, the gift of your kindness and love!
There were moments you spent listening to a heartbroken friend…the hour that you shared by helping someone in need…. All these “tender mercies”, were tucked away, nestled in-between the pages of 2019! You never counted them. You never kept track of them! You never posted these memories on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. You never waved them about for the world to see so that others would herald you for your greatness!
But, Someone saw all those random acts of kindness you showered throughout the days and minutes of 2019!
You slowly turn over the card and read the words, “Mercy in the Mourning”.
These were all the times you blessed without an expectation of return! And now. you behold as all of these memories have come to revisit you. The words on this card are these;
“When no one on earth
Can know or see
Your random acts of love,
Remember that heaven
Shall bless you, my friend,
By sending gifts from up Above!”
I urge you to ponder what “Joy in the Mourning” truly means as the year 2019 comes to a close. Examine those gifts, those memories that still need a bit of pondering, meditating and prayer to truly comprehend them. Let your mind revisit those moments that stand out in your mind. If there is still a hint of pain associated with a particular “gift”, or memory, write about it. Write down all your feelings until you feel the next gift being opened up for you, right before your very eyes….
Upon the card it read something like this:
“Some gifts made you happy
Filled with love and joy adorning
For those gifts you did not understand
Let there be “Peace in the Mourning”.
As you gaze about all your memories from 2019, be blessed in heart, mind and spirit! I pray that all hearts may be healed and made whole from anything that caused you to feel anything other than peace, love and joy. Remember, that while this life is not always blissful, there is still enough love to share and to spare!
Song: The Nativity Song
The final gift I wish to leave with you at the end of this year-long series of “Joy in the Mourning”, is my implicit faith and testimony that if we will bring our broken hearts with all of our memories still mourning, to the mercy seat of our Divine Creator, He can turn our mourning times into a season of love, peace and joy.
