more than required

Because we're a pastor's family, Christmas Eve is a work night. We're usually involved in the Christmas Eve services and don't get to enjoy each other until later that evening. Last year was different. The church decided to provide a meal, in between the two evening services, for those who were working in the services in some capacity. When our family walked into the room for dinner we had a wonderful experience. The couple who cooked the meal had made a taco buffet, but they had covered the plastic tables with white linen. The tortillas were made from scratch. The guacamole was homemade. They kept hot churros coming. There was a huge bucket full of ice and fun-flavored bottled soda. What I had thought would be a quick meal in between services turned into a party for my family. Instead of being apart on Christmas Eve we ended up together around a beautiful table with fun food. Because the couple who provided dinner was so thoughtful to create a special meal with finishing touches, our family was given the gift of laughing and relaxing together at a time when we weren't expecting it. I think about the tasks God has given me. What if I push myself to do a little more and a little better than what I've been asked to do? What difference will I make in people's lives if I add finishing touches to every task God gives me?

if it still works

When Grandma passed away a few years ago, I helped go through her things. I came across something that caused me to pause and stare for a long time. I can't get it out of my mind. It was a cardboard, gallon-sized ice cream bucket. From the time I was young I saw that paper bucket sitting in a corner of a room being used as a garbage can. It saw decades of use. Why didn't she buy a new one? As I stared at the bucket I walked down the aisle of Target in my minding, mentally shopping for a beautiful new garbage can for Grandma. Why didn't she replace that bucket with something pretty? And then I wondered why I feel the need to replace everything with something new.

before you shop...

Today I played some Christmas carols on the piano for a senior-adult luncheon. Before I got up to play they had a time for people to share what they remembered as their favorite Christmas gift. One elderly man took the microphone and said, "An orange." He said when he was young an orange was a very rare treat. As he spoke he got choked up and had to stop for a second. His Sunday School was giving an orange for anyone who memorized a Bible verse. He tearfully described earning that delicious orange and slowly savoring every bite. When he was done eating the orange, he put the peel on the furnace so it would dry, and then he chewed on the peel. He said, "We just don't know how rich we are in this country."

lonely

I grew up in Wyoming and went to college in Texas. I often had painful bouts of homesickness. I remember once letting tears slip during a Rocky movie because it was filmed in the Tetons. A guy next to me fed me kleenex all the way through it. Another time I was crying so loudly my friend could hear me from another room. Later that day I came in to find she had hole punched so much white paper it completely covered my bed. She said, "Look -it snowed! Don't be homesick!" One day I was particularly struggling with missing the physical touch from home -having dad hold my hand in church, hugs, sitting by mom on the couch while we watched a movie. I was walking from the school post office back to my dorm, and I was calling out in my heart to God. "Lord, I miss being touched. What I wouldn't give for a hug from one of my parents right now." Just a few seconds later I looked up to see a friend walking toward me. She stopped right in front of me and said, "You look like you need a hug." Right there in the middle of the street she gave me a long squeeze. I'm convinced God cares about the loneliness of my soul.

three words forward, two words back

Language is to me like a large pizza is to my 14-year-old son. When I was growing up I read books until I had headaches. On trips mom would bring a Reader's Digest and would turn "It Pays to Increase Your Word Power" into a family competition (which she always won). Part of the decor in our living room was a dictionary. In conversation, if a word came up that caused us to argue the pronunciation or the meaning, one of my parents would grab the dictionary to prove who was correct. In college I took a linguistics class that I found way too exciting. I loved the lesson on tongue placement for each letter. Who cares about that? One of my favorite Christmas gifts was a 20-pound set of Greek and Hebrew dictionaries. So why is it that I'm so good with words, but I said something completely insensitive to my friend last night? Why can I spell salpingo-oophorectomy (medical transcription!), but I can shoot off an email that tears somebody down? The Bible says every word of God is flawless. His words are light and life and sustenance. It really would pay to increase my word power.