A Gift to Return to

A GIFT TO RETURN TO           

 The rush is now upon us, and it soon will be December.

Which gifts do I buy for my family, and my friends and neighbors?

The toys for Christmas used to appear near the end of November.

Now the stores are stocking them in the middle of October.

Every store is claiming to have the best prices around.

The time to get the best deal is when the family is in town;

We have to work in the morning in case someone forgets whipped cream;

And the evening is taken over with the shopper’s Christmas dream.

So, now Thanksgiving holiday is nowhere to be found.

How did we ever manage when all of the stores would be closed?

And we had time to ponder on the things that mattered most?

Can you believe there was a time when we knew who are relatives were,

And when they came to visit we’d greet them at the door?

Thanksgiving was a time for a grateful attitude,

And we gave family members an extra dose of latitude.

So, now the question is; which is most important,

Traipsing over Thanksgiving for the money you will save;

Or spending time with relatives: your cousins, grandparents, uncles, and aunts?

If you could have a memory back, which one would you crave?

Would it be a doll, a train, a truck, or the treasures money can buy?

Or would it would it be as simple as a mother’s Christmas lullaby?

The greatest gift we’ve all been given is the Father’s Only Begotten Son,

And the time we have to become like Christ, as we knit our hearts as one.

The best gift I’ve ever given

Is the birth of a child, just leaving heaven.

So, if the most important gifts can’t be placed beneath the tree;

Why do we spend so much time trying to purchase them with money?

A Voice to Come Home To...

When Mama called each child would come.
Every daughter; every son.
But when she passed to the other side of the veil
A mist of darkness around us fell.
Somewhere in that grief stricken cloud
We heard Dad speak; but he wasn't loud.
"We are a family; we'll stick together
And with the Lord's help, this storm we will weather.

One brother slipped from the gospel sod
And his grip was ripped from the iron rod;
We saw him in the Spacious Building
But to our calls he was unyielding.
With anxiety, guilt and reason we called;
But none of these voices seemed to help at all.
So finally we asked the Lord above,
And He whispered, "Have you tried the voice of love?"

Now this is where the challenge begins,
For that is what we thought our voices had been.
But we have found love isn't heard in guilt, reason, or pride.
It only rings true when our hearts open wide
And welcome the sinner, not the sin inside.

And so we prayed, practiced, worked, and called.
We looked for the good...no matter how small.
Then the miracle began to unfold;
And he began to call and tell us of his dreams untold.
 We listened and laughed and saw his heart,
And the amount of goodness there sort of gave us a start.

When our brother came home he was battered and bruised
Because of health and the choices he'd misused.
Before he died there was something he was sure of;
Each of his siblings had learned to call with the voice of love.
When he died he wasn't alone
Because the voice of love had called him home.