The cool of the evening

One of the things I really love about daylight saving is that I can walk in the cool of the evening. There's a quiet stillness as the sun is setting and the light is fading. The rush and bustle of the day subsides and those out walking are doing so because they choose to not because they "have to get somewhere." I'm fortunate to live where I can wander around the small lake behind our house as I did this evening.

Two things came to mind as I strolled. I thought of the biblical account of God walking with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day.  "Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day..." Genesis 3:8. I imagined this was a regular occurrence and wondered what they talked about - or if perhaps they walked in companionable silence. (Sadly the end of the verse is "and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden because they were afraid.") 

Then part of an old hymn came to mind: "I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses. And the voice I hear falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses. And he walks with me and he talks with me and tells me I am his own. And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known." True, the lyrics are more doggerel than poetry but the sentiment is meaningful. A solitary walk with the One who embodies love, friendship and intimacy is a rich source of joy. There is no reason to be frightened and hide - even in the full awareness of our frailty and imperfection. 

I am grateful that I was brought up knowing the Bible well and singing hymns and songs that are rooted in my memory. They become one source of the "the voice I hear, falling on my ear."

My walk in the cool of this particular evening was a gentle and deep delight.

Christmas gifts

As I look back on Christmas I have a mix of feelings...

There's a lot of sadness that the true meaning of Christmas seems less and less evident in the rush and bustle and stress and shopping. As I previously posted - it is hard to find any Nativity scenes but Santa is everywhere.

There's sadness too as I hear from quite a few people that Christmas is time of negotiating difficult family relationships - or the loneliness of having no-one at all with whom to share the day.
Mary and Joseph didn't have it easy on the first Christmas day either! It doesn't sound as though there was a warm family welcome for the unmarried teenager and her "badly timed" delivery"

Then there's the newsworthy(!) reality of the many unwanted gifts that are for sale on TradeMe by Boxing day. By the way - I doubt if many people know the original meaning of "Boxing" day.

Boxing Day is an old custom going back to the Middle Ages. The main feature is the giving of gifts to workers or to poor people. The name has many different histories. The term might have started in England. There, servants would get money or gifts on the day after Christmas. These gifts were called "Christmas boxes". (Wikipedia)

I'm delighted that the trend towards giving "Good Gifts" or "Gifts that last" is growing. Many charities both within NZ and overseas advertise that they have a range of gift cards that represent a donation the buyer has made to someone in true need of practical help. This is precisely the spirit of "boxing day".

In our family we buy one gift for one other person and this year we decided it would be "Good gift". There were sixteen of us so that's sixteen needy people/families who received a gift that will enhance their life (and not end up on TradeMe or in the landfill!) I don't have a list of all the gifts that were given but here are some of those I gave or received from family or friends this year:

• A drought tolerant tree which grows quickly and provides nutrition for a family in Kenya.
• A pair of glasses for a young boy after cataract surgery.
• Reading tuition for a girl in Nepal
• Books for children in Liberia.
• A reading light for a child to do homework in a home with no electricity.
• A goat to help a family start a self sustaining lifestyle.
• Training for a trauma counsellor working with Rohingya refugees.
• A multi purpose generator for a family to use a water pump, plough and truck.