Every Gift – a Present and a Presence

     Ever wonder who gave the first Christmas present? There’s a simple answer: God!

      God’s was the gift of Infinite Self through the gift of an infant Son. It was a Present of Presence! It was the Divine Self reaching into an imperfect world and becoming eternally present, changing the world forever. From now on any person’s gift would be a sign of humanity’s feeble attempt to replicate God’s amazing gift  of Self to us, a sign of love reaching across boundaries of all kinds.

     Think of how many times each of us has given or witnessed a gift being given. How often do we recognize the profundity it represents? One common image where, if we pay attention, we can see below the surface, is one where a small child gives a grandparent a favorite rock, a wilting dandelion, or an indecipherable drawing. The child doesn’t have the tools to express him or herself, but an adult can see the love. When this happens, usually two smiles add light to the world because God’s presence is once again visible.

     But it isn’t just these intimate human moments that echo God’s first gift:

A smile or a helping hand in a difficult situation;

a sandwich to a hungry man;

a donation to a cause when funds are running low;

the attempt to stop an argument or fight between friends;

these are all signs where God’s love is taking on human dimensions, a Christmas gift in or out of season.

     Not all gifts emerge from self-giving love. Some stem from a sense of duty, some because of other reasons. No giving though, whatever its motivation, can escape being an echo of God’s first Gift. As written in St. John’s first letter (4:7-10), “In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that God has loved us and sent his Son…”

     All our life long we give/receive gifts and see others’ with them. Every present carries with it the presence of its giver. Every one is a stand-in for the giver and an echo of God’s gift that first Christmas. May every smile or hand in need remind us of the presence of God’s love in our midst.

         Sr. Colleen Winston, OSB

Living and Knitting in Color

        I love starting a new color. Here I am talking about my knitting, specifically the shawl I am making, designing as I go, whether this is a good idea or not. A couple of years ago someone gave St. Walburg Monastery a lot of yarn – about 5 big plastic storage containers full – it seems like they are mostly left-overs from projects, many balls/skeins without wrappers which name the color and give specifics regarding the fibers.

        For the most part, the items which have been made have washed well and the acting assumption is that they are polyester. Several of our sisters have made lovely afghans, lap robes, shawls and other items. 

        I have been making different kinds of things that use multiple colors because there is not enough of any one color of yarn for a big project. I have made some large items like afghans, as well as smaller ones like hats (for cancer survivors), baby items, etc.

        A few weeks ago I picked out “yarn” that is really thin, probably 2 ply, more like cord for wrapping packages. There were several balls of various colors and I decided to knit them into this shawl I am currently working on. Because the yarn is so fine, I use small needles (size 4) and it is taking about an hour to work across each row. So you know that it is going to take a long time to finish the shawl. With each color I also vary the pattern for those rows. It’s a way for me to stay interested and I am a little surprised at how it’s turning out.

        All of this, of course, is a metaphor for life. We don’t have control over the yarn/ gifts that come to us, but we do have choices about how we use them. We seldom have just what we want or enough of it, but we find ways to “make do” and, if approached with a positive attitude, that usually works out well. The gifts and people who come into our lives bring with them blessings and challenges. And, when we let the Spirit guide us, we can come up with works of art (or develop into Works of Arts).  All colors be welcome!

       Sr. Dorothy Schuette, OSB