I have been thinking a lot about my Mom today.  I was 37 years old when she died of cancer….way too young!  She had beautiful gifts, especially in art and music, and she shared those gifts generously and enthusiastically.  Everyone loved her. I treasure the gift of creativity which she passed on to me and nurtured within me.  She was very strong on my doing my own thing and not copying someone else.  So basically I was raised like this…

My Mom took radiation treatments at M.D. Anderson here in Houston.  She had to be there everyday for 6 weeks and I went with her.  It was not something I had to do; it was something I wanted to do.  I wanted to be with her.  There were many hours spent in “waiting rooms”.  Waiting requires patience.  Here is what I ended up working on during that time…

I have no idea why I chose to do this.  This is very elementary needlework, but needlework is not my thing!  It is tedious for me and takes lots of patience.  And it is very “inside the box, stay in the lines”.  I have been tempted out of frustration to throw this sort of stuff across the room.  But not this pillow.  It kept me in my seat, allowed for something productive, and I could talk to Mom while doing it.  I could be fully present with her all those hours of waiting, day after day, and still keep my hands busy.

The next Christmas I decided to give her this pillow.  It ended up being our last Christmas together.  I couldn’t wait for her to open it.  I can see that moment now like it was yesterday.  She looked at the pillow carefully, lovingly…then she hugged it and her eyes met mine across the room.  Our blurry tears could not be held back…we both knew.  It wasn’t about the pillow.  It was a present of “presence”.  The true gift given and received was what the pillow represented – being together.

Advent is a time of being in the waiting room.  And the gift God gave us at Christmas was coming to be with us.  This great God Almighty came to be boxed into our skin and become fully human while still fully divine.  He is Immanuel, God with us!

Gift of PRESENCE!   (Illustration by Julie Vivas)

Questions to think about…

Who comes to mind when you consider the gift of presence?

How might you give a present of presence this year?

nk