A Gift

I found this gift done up in a scroll at my door on Christmas eve and I pass it on to all of you, my readers.

What I really would like to give you for Christmas is a star...

Brilliance in a package, something you could keep in the pocket of your being.

Something you could take out in times of darkness

something that would never snuff out or tarnish,

something you could hold in your hand,

something for wonderment,

something for pondering,

something that would remind you of what Christmas has always meant: God's Advent Light in the darkness of this world.

But stars are only God's for giving, and I must be content to give you words and wishes and packages without stars.

But I can wish you life as radiant as the star that announced Christ's coming, and as filled with awe as the shepherds who stood beneath its light.

And I can pass on to you the love that has been given to me, ignited countless times by others who have knelt in Bethlehem's light.

Perhaps, if you ask, God will give you a star.

                                                             Jeanne Houlihan, MM