A Memorable Christmas - Guest Post by Ruth Keighley

Christmas memories are common to everyone. Some may not be good memories but most of them are worth remembering. I grew up in a family of seven where Christmas was one of the most important days of the year. The birth of Christ was the centre of the holiday season and extended family came to celebrate together. 

Excitement and anticipation were high as we prepared for that special day. Mom and Dad gave each of us kids a little money so we could buy some presents for our parents and siblings and it was fun to wrap the gifts in my parents’ bedroom feeling just a little trepidation that someone uninvited would open the door to peek in. 

It was tradition in our home to open most of the presents on the evening of Christmas Eve after everyone had their baths and were dressed in their pjs and sipping hot chocolate. Dad would always read the Christmas story and pray but we were impatient to get to the gift opening. There were a lot of exclamations of joy as we opened our gifts to each other and watched as Mom opened the big parcel sent from our grandparents in another province. 

One Christmas I had ordered a special gift for my mom from the Eaton’s catalogue. It was a pair of white fancy gloves that reached to the elbow. My mom never dressed in fancy clothes that would suit those gloves but I thought they would look beautiful on her. She graciously wore them to church a couple times and showed them off to her friends. I wasn’t aware until much later how funny she would have looked in those gloves. I just knew that Mom had truly appreciated my gift of love and wasn’t embarrassed to display what I had done for her. 

 We kids got up that Christmas morning and quietly went into the living room to see what we had under the tree. Those were our gifts from Mom and Dad and they were unwrapped, with a piece of paper with our names on top of each display. Mom and Dad stayed in their bed across the hall and listened to us and waited for us to come and thank them.

One Christmas morning I knelt in front of the tree and found my name on my gift. There it was, a pair of beautiful hand-knitted mittens that Mom had made, lying on top of some wrinkled cellophane paper. I picked up those mittens and my first thought was, “Is that all I got?” I felt guilty that I was so disappointed and I struggled to feel truly thankful before going into my parents’ bedroom. I thanked them for the mitts and Mom asked me, “Is that all you found? Go back and look again.” I lifted the cellophane and there underneath was a lovely wristwatch, something I had desired for a long time. My thankfulness turned to real joy as I ran into my parents’ bedroom and thanked them for my Christmas gift. 

I learned something important that Christmas. I must be thankful for the little things. Life is made up of a lot of little things that we may not recognize as true gifts but I Thessalonians 6:18 tells us, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I learned that I could be truly thankful despite disappointment. It was a lesson I was to learn over again many times throughout my life. 

Thank you, Lord, for the little things.

Ruth Keighley is a wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother living in Warman, SK. She loves writing, reading, jigsaw puzzles, and hand embroidery. She has authored one book, Healing for an Unquiet Mind, and co-authored one book, Making the Crooked Places Straight.