Dec. 1: The Perfect Christmas Gift

“To experience 80 years and rejoice in each new day is his singular joy,” writes syndicated columnist Christina Capecchi about her grandfather, an artist who recovered from a heart attack at age 70 and thereafter, continued learning and growing.  At age 73, he taught himself to play clarinet and is now writing a book called Life Begins at 70.

While she was hosting a fun-filled but hectic Christmas party, Capecchi was called aside by her grandfather.  “Look, what do you see?” he asked, encouraging her to pause and appreciate the bustling scene.  “You see love,” he said.

Through her grandfather’s eyes, the young writer was able to see an affectionate family baking, decorating, eating and enjoying their time together.  She wrote that her grandfather gave her “the perfect Christmas gift: to step outside the party like the Ghost of Christmas Present and then re-enter, relishing all the little things that had seemed ordinary a moment before.”

Enjoy the extraordinary ordinary moments of your life.

Rise before the aged, and defer to the old. 

(Leviticus 19:32)

May we find time today, Jesus, to notice life’s small gifts.