December – the time of the year when our homes are riddled with numerous catalogs and sale flyers touting the best Christmas presents at the best prices! With numerous young nieces and nephews, our family delves into Christmas gift-giving with great gusto. Therefore, despite better sense, a few years ago, I found myself in the Target toy section on “Black Friday” at 6:25 a.m. At that moment, the peace and serenity of the first Christmas was far from my mind. My focus was elbowing through the hoards of people to get the best deals as I checked more and more names off my list.
After a few days of recovery from my Target experience, I began to reflect on Christmas gift-giving as we know it. Inevitably, someone in my family will ask me what I want for Christmas, and I have a difficult time thinking of appropriate items for my list. Too often I find myself not even having adequate space for all the “stuff” that I already have. What new “stuff” do I want to add to my collection? In his book Soul Salsa, Christian futurist Leonard Sweet devotes a chapter to the concept of the mezuzah. In it, he stresses the importance of intersecting the sacred with every aspect of our daily lives. On the subject of “stuff,” he writes:
“Stories sanctify space. The more you live in a place, the more your space becomes silted with artifacts. If those artifacts come without stories or purpose, no matter how beautiful or expensive they may be, you are turning your home into a garbage dump. Every room in your house tells a life-or-death story.”
During this time of reflection, my mind raced back to an unexpected Christmas gift several years ago. In the middle of December, I received a phone call from a friend from out of town. She began to tell me that she and her husband had a Christmas present for us, but they would not be able to get it to us until January. I was shocked! We didn’t even exchange presents as a rule. I was even more surprised when she told me that her husband had made us a grandfather clock. I instantly knew that a grandfather clock would look grand in the entryway to our home, but in all my Christmases, a grandfather clock had never once appeared on my list. In the weeks between the knowledge of the clock and its delivery, I thought many times of the time, effort, and care spent in crafting such a gift. Yet, the more I thought about our coming present, the deeper its meaning became. In the six years we had known the couple bringing us the clock, they had experienced one heartache and trial after another. From the death of a 21-year old son to the prodigal ways of their remaining son; from car accidents to heart by-pass surgery; from breast cancer to its return in a mere three years. Yet, during all of these happenings, we never once heard our friends speak negatively of God. If anything, they would often proclaim, “God is faithful!”
The more I reflected on my soon coming clock, the more fitting the gift seemed. I remember praying, “Yes, God, no matter how much time passes, you are faithful. You are the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Several weeks passed, and we were able to visit with our friends. I vividly remember sitting in the living room conversing with the wife as she was recovering from another surgery. Soon the conversation turned to the clock her husband had made for us. She looked into my eyes and said, “Mary, do you know what my grandfather clock says to me? With every chime, it says, God is faithful.”
With tears in my eyes, I nodded, “Yes, I know.” Now, several years down the road, I am reminded with every sounding of our clock of God’s faithfulness and of the testimony of a family who continued to believe that He was good despite their circumstances.
The story of that Christmas gift sanctifies the space in the entryway of our home. Upon remembering it, I am forced to ask myself if I give gifts that hold deeper meaning and sanctify space or do I merely find a good deal to fulfill an obligation? Not many of us have the talent and ability to fashion something as elaborate as a grandfather clock. Yet, we can pause and consider adding deeper meaning to our gift giving. This Christmas let us consider what gifts come with stories or purpose to further our friends and loved ones in their relationships with Christ. The legacy of these gifts will give life for many years to come.