Last year, I came across four of these beautiful ornaments in a vintage shop, located in Door County. At $14/per ornament, I just couldn't bring myself to buy them. I even stopped by that shop several times and tried to rationalize my purchase, but spending $60 on yourself during the holidays seemed both frivolous and selfish. So, I passed on the purchase, but not without sharing my wish to buy them with my Sister.
Weeks went by and with the bustle of the season, I soon forgot my stops at the resale shop. Christmas day found itself more quickly than normal, and my family gathered at my parents house to celebrate.
Shortly after everyone opened their gifts, my nieces brought to me two packages. One, a small box, perfectly wrapped with beautiful, festive ribbon; the other a very large, round hat box. With my nieces and nephews surrounding me, my Sister asked me to open the smaller box first. Inside, I found nestled among tissue paper, two, absolutely stunning vintage ornaments. I sat there, with tears welling in my eyes, with complete and heartfelt amazement that my Sister remembered how much I wanted those four ornaments from the resale shop. Then, my Sister said, "Open the big box!" Wondering what could be found inside, I gently pulled the top off the hat box. Inside were 60 other vintage, glass beaded ornaments of every color and pattern!
I can honestly say this gift was my all time favorite. Mostly because my Sister's love language is giving from the heart, and also because I knew right then and there, I would forever think of her when I decorated my living room tree.
You see, these ornaments mean more to me than you might expect. When we were very young, my Mother would buy glass beaded ornament kits and have the three of us kids create them together. We would spend weeks working on the ornaments and often wondered why we were making them in the first place. A week before Christmas, my Mom gathered us together to share why we had been creating the glass beaded Christmas ornaments: they would be gifts for elderly residents of local nursing homes who often had little or no visitors during the holiday season! Mom had contacted several nursing homes and inquired about which residents would not have family visiting for Christmas. We would then visit each of the residents, proudly handing them our handmade ornament as a gift. I vividly remember a frail, slender older lady, who sat in her bed as we arrived. It was my turn to give the gift. Nervously and shyly, I handed her my small gift box, wrapped in colorful paper and a crimson bow. Her hands were shaky as she unraveled the bow, and her eyes shown brightly in anticipation of what was beneath the tissue paper. When she opened the box and gently pulled from it the ornament we had made, tears began to run down her cheeks, as she exclaimed it was the, "most beautiful ornament I've ever seen, and I will treasure it forever!". Better than her reaction to our gift was the warm embrace she gave me, and the sweet kiss on my forehead. I asked my Mom why the lady cried as we walked down the hallway of that nursing home. Mom said, "Honey, there are many people in this world that don't have the same kind of Christmas that we do. It's important to show them love and kindness, for the gift of the season is the promise that Jesus gave us: a life without pain or loss; a world were love prevails."
My life was forever changed by a simple act of gifting glass beaded ornaments. And I will treasure that memory for the rest of my life.
So, as I gaze at our tree this year, I think of two beautiful and amazing women in my life: my Sister and my Mom. I also remember the true lesson I learned from those ornaments: Christmas is the season of giving, yes, but when you give from your heart, you lift burdened and tired souls even here on Earth.
No comments:
Post a Comment