Good morning…
Because our newly refinished hardwoods are not ready to welcome a fresh-cut tree our main floor, an eight-foot Virginia pine this year is set up in our basement, the space where God and I host individual and group spiritual direction sessions regularly. After a sacred session this week, she and I marveled at the tree. “What is your favorite ornament?” she asked.
Without thinking, I pulled from a branch the old stuffed bunny pictured in this morning’s post. “I think this is my all-time favorite,” I said, describing the story behind my unconventional choice. When I was in my twenties, I worked as a play therapist in New Oxford, Pennsylvania at a non-profit agency, the Children’s Aid Society. There I learned incredible life lessons with children and their families. One of my most memorable clients was a teenager named Joe. Joe was struggling to keep his true self safe, trapped in a home controlled by an alcoholic father. This ornament was his parting gift to me, a soft bunny with big ears that can wrap themselves into a protective pastel-striped shell, zipping up safely inside. Joe taught me that if his inner ears could pick up the threat of his dad’s danger, he could zip up his tender, true self beneath a strong shell of safety. This shell of safety, accessible day or night, provided for me a great glimpse of how God’s Holy Spirit was actively at work in Joe’s young life.
How does a twelve year old boy learn this creative way to cope? Instinctively, I sense Joe learned to unwrap the gift of God’s powerful presence with him at all times, in every circumstance, early in his hard, hard life. When the ugly winds of the world blow strong, the Spirit of our living Lord sparks in us a drive to dive down, to hide, to abide in oneness with the powerful presence of God born within each of us.
Hanging on our tree, we have “baby’s first Christmas” ornaments, framed pictures of our growing family from over the years, and heartfelt, handmade gifts given by friends and family. Yet my favorite ornament is Joe’s gift from long ago, a symbol of Christ’s peaceful power born inside each of us, inspiring a capacity to tuck our true selves into God’s creative care, in every circumstance, each passing day of our earthly lives.
Only Jesus has the power to save! His name is the only one in all the world that can save anyone (Acts 4:12, CEV).
…Sue…
