The Gift of Christmas
Velma Ruch
… and above all things, clothe yourselves with the bonds of charity, as with a mantle, which is a bond of perfectness and peace; pray always, that you may not faint until I come; behold, and lo, I will come quickly and receive you unto myself. Amen. -Doctrine and Covenants 85:38c
From Finding Home: The Hospitality of God, Graceland University Press, 2006, pp. 87-88
One Sunday evening before Christmas in 1993 I was sitting upstairs relaxing and looking at my Christmas tree full of angels. Just then the doorbell rang and outside stood a young man I didn’t know holding a beautifully wrapped box which he said was for me from my secret sister. I thanked the young man and asked his name. He said he was told not to tell his name because I might know from whom the gift came. I thanked him and he left. I went inside and opened the box. I was amazed at what I saw. It was a beautiful dollhouse type room filled with furnishings that somehow seemed familiar. Immediately the magic of my childhood was upon me.
When I was about ten years old someone gave me a dollhouse. I spent the most delightful hours of my childhood making things to furnish it. Ever since I have been irresistibly drawn to dollhouses. So it was with special joy I began to inspect this one. I looked at the pictures on the wall and with amazement I discovered they were pictures taken when we were in Norway, Christmas 1989, to inaugurate the new Norwegian hymnal I had edited. Then I saw on the desk a framed picture of me taken when we were in Lillehammer. On the desk was a light just like the one I have and the Holy Bible with writing material. There was the whole bookcase filled with books and beside it a Victorian chair like the one in my living room inherited from my grandmother. In the other corner was a globe of the world and on the floor a carpet just like mine.
Tears filled my eyes and I thought: “This is no ordinary dollhouse. This is for me. This is my life put together by someone who knows me and loves me.” I wept tears of joy for the beauty of it and for the hours of skilled work that had gone into it. I still have it in my living room and every time I look at it I experience a surge of joy.
The most wondrous thing of all is to recognize that the greatest of all gifts, the gift of God, the love of God, is not a general gift. It is a gift for me. To make that discovery for ourselves is to experience Christmas in the first person. It is not just to know it in second or third person, for you or for him or her. It is first person, for me. What happens in us when we make that discovery is similar to the amazement I experienced when I recognized that the dollhouse room someone had made was not just a room in general, it was my room. It was for me.
Prayer Phrase
“Trust what is being born” (Stephen M. Veazey, Words of Counsel, 2019).
Spiritual Practice
Deepen your breathing as you enter a few moments of silent presence to God. Pay attention first to your own life as you gently ask and notice, “What is most alive in me right now? What is being born in me?” After a few moments of silent listening, ask these questions of your community, the church, and the world. Notice how the Spirit is revealing new life and possibility as you prayerfully ask these questions over time.
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.
