SubscribeBe an angel this season
The Christmas tree at the Y twinkled with translucent lights and was festooned with blue and pink paper angels. Children had written in pencil and pen items they wanted for Christmas, from popular electronics to gift cards. On a subsequent visit to the gym there were fewer cut-out angels on the tree because people were taking them off to fulfill a child’s holiday desire. They are the angels among us.
Looking at the tree, I saw the wonder of the season. It is a time when many of us extend ourselves to others. It is one of the things that make this time of year so special for me. For the last several years, my family and I joined with two other families to purchase gifts for children of various ages and sizes. Around the middle of the month, we would come together for the annual tree-trimming party at my friend’s house and wrap the presents. We enjoyed matching gifts with our list and making sure each child received a fun toy as well as an article of clothing.
My friend Marcia especially enjoyed shopping for our annual gift-giving and wrapping the gifts in the most festive paper she could find. Even though she’s not able to do her own shopping this season, she is not letting that stop her for spreading her angel wings and bringing some Christmas joy to others. Relatives will do the shopping for her.
Over the next couple of weeks, my church and other churches will be gathering bundles of new toys and clothing for childen and families in need, joining Y members and employees of other organizations who want to bring a bit of joy into the lives of families that otherwise would do without. The gifts are more than just material objects that could break or wear out over time, they are tangible manifestations of God’s love. They are messages of hope from angels.
The world is in need of more angels this season, since so many more families are suffering economic hardships. The tree in the lobby at the Y is not the only one filled with angels waiting to take wings.
What are you doing this Christmas through your church, family or workplace to be someone’s angel?
”Be an angel to someone else whenever you can, as a way of thanking God for the help your angel has given you. ”
Quoted in The Angels’ Little Instruction Book by Eileen Elias Freeman, 1994
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