GIFT GIVING IN OUR NORMAL ORDINARY LIVES
“Leni, Advent starts soon. We are going to prepare for Christmas, Jesus’ birthday.” I tell my 5-year-old during our nighttime prayers.
She gets excited. “Mommy! I’m going to give Jesus the best presents!”
I quietly smile and ask, “What are you going to give, baby?”
“Love!” She begins. “And forgiveness.” She pauses and adds one more gift, “And I’m going to be kind to everyone in the whole world!”
“Wow. I think those are really the best presents ever.” I tell her. Then we snuggle to fall asleep.
In today’s Gospel, “Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to the childlike.”
I love engaging with Leni and her 3-year-old brother, Ollie, because their theology is by nature, childlike. When I need to get out of the thoughts spinning in my head, their straightforward answers to questions are refreshing. And sometimes jarring. On that night last week, they were eye-opening.
Sometimes I think I need to do something extra to participate in the season of Advent. But instead of seeking to do something outside of my normal routine this year, I want to hear the everyday invitations that are already unfolding before me. Every day, Jesus shows himself in my encounters with my family, friends, and strangers I meet in stores or on the road.
When my kids are running behind schedule in the morning, instead of losing my patience, I want to be more loving in my tone of voice. When I become annoyed with the driver tailgating me as I drive the speed limit, I want to be forgiving and say a prayer blessing them and all the cars on the road with them. When Kevin requires some grace because of his long hours at work, I want to plate his dinner and place it in the microwave so it’s ready to be warmed up when he does get home.
There is invitation after invitation to be loving, forgiving, and kind in my everyday life. So instead of wondering what “more” can I “do” in Advent, maybe “being” more present in my life is enough. Maybe I’ll see that it’s already possible to make way for joy.
In our daily lives, in our ordinary lives, in what is already happening in our own lives, where is Jesus hiding or revealing himself, that we may give the gift of love, forgiveness, and kindness?
Dear Jesus, when we get caught up in trying to do “more”, help us to see that you are already in the “becoming” of our day. Today, we can already become loving. Today, we can already become forgiving. Today, we can already become kind. Amen.
Rae Visita