MEMORY -
Every Christmas Eve before midnight mass, our family would gather around the fireplace, enjoy some good eats and share our gifts from the heart. Gifts From The Heart was a tradition that my mom started when I was a little girl. Like many kids on Christmas, I kept asking about the presents.... mom noticed and took action to show me what Christmas was all about. Christmas wasn't about the gifts we buy, yet the gifts that come from the heart. We each brought something personal to the evening. I had brought the fun of entertainment with song and dance and my brother brought the joy of laughter with jokes and skits. Dad would bring characters to life with 3D animated holiday greetings, while Mom brought us to tears with insightful words of love and faith.
Uncle Pete brought us to thought, taking us to a place in our minds and hearts, we didn't even know existed.
It was Christmas Eve 1996, a year after Pete's mom had passed.
Every Sunday our family joined together in the front row at church. To our right in the next section over, sat an old man and his adult son. His son had Cerebral Palsy and was limited to a wheel chair. The father's touch seemed to calm the boy, as he would hold his hand and stroke it softly. A few times during the service, the father would take his hankie and wipe the mouth of his son, put the hankie away and continue to hold his trembling child.
Pete took notice and was touched at the sight of unconditional love. So touched, he decided to include his observations in his gift from the heart. He went on to talk about Grandma, how unconditional her love was for her sons. Just before concluding his thoughts, he gave each of us one of Grandmas hankies. This way, we will remember the "hankie story" and the unconditional love that brought it to life.
APPLICATION -
Today, Uncle Pete guided me from a distance, inspiring me to create an AWESOME gift from the heart this year!
REFLECTION -
Looking back on that intimate Christmas Eve in December 1996, it was a good thing Peter gave us hankies, we were all in tears and happily so.
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