The forecasters weren’t doing us any
favors. Predictions called for frozen precipitation from winter storm Diego this past weekend ―the
dates scheduled for our community symphony and chorus Christmas concerts. We’d been
practicing for months and foregoing the opportunity to realize the fruit of that
practice made us all a little sad.
I’ve always seen these weekends as a
great big gift to our community. The tickets are free and once they become available,
thousands of them are gone in less than an hour. It is a tradition for many
families to attend the concerts together. Several in my own family
as well as friends planned to attend.
But the bad weather threat continued to
hang over us. We prayed for a reprieve from it.
It made me think of something my pastor friend
Warren wrote to me decades ago when he was mentoring me back from the train
wreck I’d made of my life.
“It’s a terrible thing to be cheated out
of giving,” he penned.
Oh, how those words stung when I read
them. Unlike the situation with the weather which was out of our control, it was my own selfish actions that had caused me to be cheated out of giving. A deep
resolve formed in me not to allow that to happen again.
Paul quotes Jesus in Acts 20:35, “It is
more blessed to give than to receive.”
Seeing the joy a gift is to others does
indeed bring a huge blessing to us. In this season of giving, it’s nice to stop
and remember why we do what we do. We love because He first loved us. We give
because He first gave to us.
It turned out that the snowy weather
went a little north of us and our concerts went on as scheduled. The audiences
seemed delighted they were able to open their gift from us.
As for us, when the last note had been
played and sung, we went home full of Christmas wonder and gratitude because we
were able to give.
And speaking of giving, I'm having another giveaway this week on my blog. Please comment here or on Facebook to be entered in a drawing to win a copy of Faith in the Fashion District and a mug. And please consider Faith in the Fashion District or The Key to Everything for those on your Christmas list. The contest ends at 5 p.m. on Friday, December 14, 2018.
The contest is closed. Susan Davis is the winner of a copy of Faith in the Fashion District and a mug. Congrats!!
The contest is closed. Susan Davis is the winner of a copy of Faith in the Fashion District and a mug. Congrats!!
Also, this Thursday begins the giveaway with Anaiah authors. Please join my new page, Beverly Varnado Readers Page, here to keep up with the giveaways.
