Christmas cards add many dollars to the profit margins of greeting card companies. They
also have a reputation for wearing out postal workers.
The cards my family receives I hang near the front door, just in case a visitor wants
to see them. This year, the first Christmas blessing arrived a week after Thanksgiving. I
hung it by its lonesome self where everyone could view it, and waited for a few more to
come to keep it company. By the third Sunday of Advent, a small card club had formed.
Then, miraculously, overnight, the gathering turned into a large riot threatening to
overthrow the living room, each card vying to be read and shouting for attention from my
hapless visitors.
What are we supposed to do with all the cards the postal workers carry to us? Some of
us glance quickly at who they're from, then pile them on an avalanching mountain of
seasonal best wishes. A few people are clever enough to convert them into decorations.
The real challenge comes after Christmas, however. Our friends and relatives spent food
money on these cards and on the postage that makes the postal workers carry them. It
doesn't seem right to throw them away. So we save them, and save them year after year. As
the collection grows, still we have no idea what to do with them, but surely we'll think
of something some decade.
I'm sending you my Christmas card, ye good and faithful readers, printed right here on
this webpage so you don't have to feel bad about throwing out a card that has a pretty
picture on the front. But if you print it out, I hope you feel bad about using it to
kindle the flames in your fireplace or line the bottom of your bird's cage. (Just kidding.
I know how birds enjoy good reading material.)
If I could give you any gift this Christmas, I'd give you the gift of angels. May they
minister to you when you are troubled or sad. May they fight off evil and carry you deeper
into the Kingdom of God.
I'd like to give you the gift of eagles' wings. May they lift you up when you fall and
raise you to new heights. May they shield you from the heat of the day and protect you as
you grow.
I'd like to give you the gift of the two-edged sword of the Spirit. May you use it to
divide good from evil and may it reveal to you what is truth and what is deception.
I'd like to give you the gift of the mustard seed. May faith be planted deep in your
heart and grow to produce the largest of fruits. May it also move the mountains in your
life.
I'd like to give you the gift of the Wise Men. May you, too, recognize the star God
wants you to follow and may the Wise Men lead you anew to the destination where the Savior
resides.
I'd like to give you the gift of prayer. May you experience the closeness of God, hear
His voice, know His guidance and receive the answers to every request in accordance with
His generous love.
Most of all, I long to give you the gift of the Christ-child. He was born to bring you
the power to overcome all evil, which He accomplished through His death on the cross. For
it is through Jesus that all the other gifts are possible. May you grow in relationship
with Him throughout the new year.
