What does the world feel like the day after Christmas? Do we still feel hopeful or has
disappointment set in? Did the
savior really come, or are you just one day older? These were the words, which began my journal entry
today.
I received one of the coolest gifts yesterday; actually
there were two. But I want to
focus on the one. The girl that
gave them to me would be considered my 2nd cousin, I think? Her name is Amanda. Amanda just received her Doctorate in
physical therapy. Not only is
Amanda ridiculously intelligent, she’s ever thoughtful of others.
Every year Wendy’s side of the family draws names for
Christmas…a tradition amongst many of the western world. This year, Amanda received mine. Now usually I typically request a gift
card or something that is nice and easy to fit into the car…(Thank you
Michael!) I say this only because our
three girls are more than spoiled by our amazing aunt George and uncle
Ted. If I were younger I would
have believed Santa lived in their basement…and maybe He really does. Thus, this leaves little room for
people in the car ride home, much less anything extra that might be given to
Wendy and I.
After opening my gift card from Michael, I was left with one
small package. To be honest, I’m
not a huge gift exchange fan. Not
because I don’t like to buy gifts, but because I’m very uncomfortable opening a
gift in front of the presenter.
I’ve never been one to hide my feelings well…I’ve tried, but I’m an
obvious mess most of the time.
So I began to slowly unwrap the gift. Inside, there were two even smaller
gifts wrapped in pink and baby blue tissue paper. The first gift was a block of wood, with The Kissing Well’s
logo neatly stamped on it. I
really didn’t know how to react, but I know I was smiling…happy because someone
reached down and touched a part of my heart that still quietly beats. What came next caught me speechless…
As I unwrapped the second of the two packages, I saw that it
was going to be a piece of
jewelry; it was in that kind of a quaint box. What my eyes saw next brought mist and yet a bit of
confusion. Amanda couldn’t have
possibly been this creative, this thoughtful…but boy was I wrong. It was a black leather bracelet…with a
dog tag like piece of metal stamped to it. On the metal was engraved coordinates, but not just any
coordinates.
Now, if I would have opened this gift first, I’m not sure I
would have been so sure about the location of the coordinates the bracelet
contained. But remember, I had just
been reminded of my heart, and it was still beating out of my chest from the
first gift. And by the way, the
gifts weren’t numbered, and in retrospect, had no idea the impact of the order. I wonder if Amanda knew that in advance
as well? I guess God sometimes
still grants us the gift of wander and awe.
1.0667 N, 31.8833 E…the exact coordinates of Uganda,
Africa. To be honest, I had never
looked them up, had never even thought of looking them up…but Amanda did. Amanda had not only looked them up, but
she made them come to life on my wrist, or should I say, come back to
life.
See, what Amanda didn’t know that particular day was the
anxiety I felt that came from not being me for almost a year. The last thing you want is to be around
people whom you haven’t seen for sometime, asking you questions regarding the
following year, when the following year in your mind had been a complete
disaster. No one likes to be
embarrassed. No one likes to admit
defeat. No one likes to feel dead, numb maybe, but not dead.
I had a friend once who said to me, “Todd, I don’t think
you’ve died, you’ve just been dormant.”
I thought that was insightful, and began using it to describe how I was
doing if someone seriously engaged me in conversation.
1.0667 N, 31.833 E has made my heart’s spring come
early. You can’t force the brown
to turn green over night.
I think God likes to use the small things to remind us of
the big. He used a precious baby
to bring Hope and ultimately provide it for eternity. On this Christmas, for me, He used a small bracelet. I’m thankful for people like Amanda who
listen to God and provide Hope.
