Mhairi is scheduled to fly back to LA next week, for an
extended visit. I wrapped a few small gifts for Mom, who will be able to
celebrate her 97th birthday with Mhairi. What a blessing, though I
do confess my heart is sad that I won’t be with them.
The gifts are small – dark chocolate with nuts, shortbread,
a tartan sheep. Mom doesn’t need anything, but I know what she enjoys, and the
sheep will remind her of Queenie, her pet when she was a teenager on the farm,
and the tartan may remind her where I am. Small gifts, but tailored.
Paul talks about gifts to the Corinthians, teaching that God
gives each of us gifts. Suddenly this morning I saw the endless tedium and
anxiety of sorting out insurance and banking situations for Mom in a different
light. He has gifted me, in this season, with all that I need to walk Mom home
safely. And more than that, because I can be her support team, her life in
Sunrise can be her final mission field. I’ve been told more than once by one of
the care managers there that she loves enabling a skype call between us,
because of the love and laughter we still share.
Praying that Mom will continue to shine with the light of
Jesus, and that I will trust that he gives me all I need to oversee the
complications of the American healthcare system, to make sensible banking decisions,
and in all of that, to remember the more mundane – the renewal of clothing and
restocking of toiletries. Those are just the gifts I need for this season, and
the gifts that will bring me joy as I successfully walk her into his arms. From
six thousand miles away.
God’s goodness never fails. With the amazing gift of the
Holy Spirit come all the treasures of heaven. We are each gifted with what we
need, when we need it. Why don’t I trust more in that truth, that promise from
God, and not wake up in the night thinking about details I don’t comprehend?
Today may I, and may you, not only receive the gifts of God
which are special and unique to each of us, but actually open them and smile
with delight to see that he has chosen to give us exactly what we need for this
season.
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