The Greatest Gift

It is the winter solstice, the day we in the northern hemisphere receive the fewest hours of sunlight. As the days have shortened through autumn, I’ve curtailed most of my outside activities, with the exception of nightly walks through the dark with farm dog.

Longer nights open the door to more rest, more hours to cuddle with kids, books, hubby, and, sadly, more opportunity to wallow in the vast wasteland that is television. I noticed that TV commercials started pushing consumer goods as Christmas gifts early this year. I suppose I should be grateful I don’t live in Iowa, where for weeks residents have had their favorite shows interrupted by Hillary, Barack, John, Mitt, Rudi and the other political gnomes.

North of the Iowa border, ads for cars, jewelry, computers, iPods, and computer games started running regularly right after Halloween, and after weeks of seeing couples kissing over diamonds or smiling at their shiny new vehicles, I’ve begun to wonder how many people understand that a person’s Christmas doesn’t need to involve spending and debt. I recall the words of Dr. Seuss’s Grinch when he suddenly came to a clear understanding of the spirit Christmas: “It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags.”

An elderly gentleman took my hand a few weeks back and reminded me that the greatest gift we can give or receive at Christmas is forgiveness. Deep in my heart, I know this is true; still, it’s hard to hold onto this truth when, even as I type this, ads bombard me via email enticing me to spend, spend, spend.

Fortunately, it’s the winter solstice and the darkness combined with the distance between Four Cedars Farms and city lights is great. That means all I have to do is turn off the television or the computer, grab farm dog and step outside to see diamonds sparkling overhead. It’s a nightly reminder that whatever I’ve said or done to hurt others or myself along my life journey, God loves me and will forgive me. God showers us all with diamonds, and not just at Christmas. It’s just that at Christmas, in the dark, they’re that much easier to see.