In yesterday's blogpost I talked about how gifts can bring back memories of friends and Christmases gone by. Some gifts also carry memories with them that are not my own. When I was a child, I received gifts and ornaments from people, and I do not remember receiving the gifts. My mother, however, told me the stories each year as we hung our ornaments on the tree, and they are all now a part of my story.
The engraved angel above is one such gift. This was my very first Christmas ornament on my very first Christmas. (We do not need to dwell on how many Christmases ago that was. Suffice to say, this is a vintage ornament!) Every single year as far back as I can remember, this ornament has been one of the first to go on the Christmas tree, and it has always gone up at the top of the tree, in a special place near the star, first in my parents' house, and now in mine. The angel makes me think of the dear friends who gave it to me, but it also reminds me of the gifts God gave me before I was even aware of my circumstance. You see, I was adopted as an infant. I have learned as an adult that my birth mother was pressured to have an abortion, but she refused. Also, I was a breach baby with the cord wrapped around my neck, but the doctors delivered me safely. Two times before I even took a breath outside the womb, God gave me the gift of my life. I was then given up by a very selfless woman who gave birth to me but knew she couldn't keep me, and was adopted by a very selfless couple who had been waiting for a child for a very long time. This ornament was given to me by one of the couples who helped to get me placed in that family. The angel is a celebration of my life, and of my parents' first Christmas with a family of their own. I remember this every year when I unwrap my ornaments and decorate my Christmas tree.
These are some other vintage ornaments from my Christmas tree. I do not remember who gave them to me, but I remember unwrapping them when I was very young at a Christmas party or a Christmas Eve service at my church. They go on my tree every year, shortly after the engraved angel, and they always make me think of the love of my Church family and the wonderful Christian community in which I grew up.
One of the lines of the song "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" says, "There'll be . . . tales of the glories of Christmases long long ago." Memories are one of the best parts of Christmas. I hope you have some good memories of your childhood Christmases, and great stories of the Christmases you do not remember. Regardless of what your personal memories are, however, we can all share the memory of that very first Christmas. It is not our own memory, but one that has been told to us over and over again through stories and songs. One dark night, in a little town, with no well-wishers but a bunch of scruffy shepherds and maybe a few animals, a Baby was born to bring light to the world. He gave us life, and although we were not there and were not aware of our circumstance, His story can be part of our story now.
Speaking of childhood memories, I wanted to give you a gift to download tonight. This is my mini-lapbook on the Legend of the Candy Cane. It will mainly be useful for my readers who teach, homeschool, or have small children. Click the image to download from Mediafire.
Merry Christmas!
