Gathering Is The Gift

Ever notice how many storage units there are sitting around across the America landscape? What does that say about our excess? When you have so much “stuff” that one house, one garage, and one yard unit won’t hold it all, do you think maybe you have too much?



Over the past couple of years most of us have given up exchanging gifts for birthdays and Christmas. There used to be a time when we “wanted” or even “needed” for Christmas. Now most of us have all we need and then some. Sadly when we needed a huge crock pot, three kinds of ovens, and a 12 place setting of sturdy plates to feed a family, we couldn't afford it. By the time we can get what we need and want, we are home figuring out how to make spaghetti sauce that won’t last for a week after the first serving!


No, we are warm, fed, clothed and have an abundance of pretty things sitting around. To buy more creates a space problem and is just greedy, so now we give to charities and/or make time for each other. The Joplin tornado is still fresh in our minds. Driving through the corner of 15th Street and Main means facing an abrupt halt to the city we once knew. We drive into a curtain of light—bare land where homes and families once were. Even though the debris is gone in many cases, the bareness itself is a real reminder of life altered, piles of possessions blown away.


We are reminded that all that is really ours to own and keep in this life is breath and memories. So instead of gifts, now we make memories. We take the time to share a meal, a pot of tea, a chat around a Christmas tree. Never have I had a calendar so full of serene meals and time shared. Never have I enjoyed such rich gifts!

Friends around Julie's table.