The Gift Of Love

Tis the Season!

Every nightfall reveals another house with joyfully displayed shimmering bright lights.

Each store experience brings a new version of Silent Night.

Daily trips to the mailbox are getting heavier with catalogs and coupons begging for last minute shopping business.

Yup! The holidays are upon us!

As I contemplate what to buy for loved ones, I can’t help but hear my beloved daughter’s sharp words ringing in my ears. “Mom, I don’t want anything for Christmas. I don’t like this time of year!”

Part of me wrenches inside as I recall Christmas memories. I can still see her running downstairs in her pink Ariel foot pj’s and rushing to rip open her “big” gift box, smiling from ear to ear and then hurrying to the next present in line. Squeals of delight as she opened another day on the advent calendar still rattle around my head. And it was just last year that we made multiple trips to the grocery store to be sure that we had all the favorite candies for the annual gingerbread house making event. How did she get to a place where she doesn’t like this time of year? All I can remember are happy times.

The other part of me knows full well why she doesn’t like this season. As she has matured to adulthood, I have watched her become more and more aware of the truths that lie beneath the surface.

She intuitively knows this is a difficult time of year for many people. As a natural barometer for the world around her, she can feel it.

The pressure to feel love and joy during a time of darkness and cold can be daunting. Family reunions can feel forced and stressful. Memories of loved ones who have passed on become relentlessly present and painful. And, of course, there are the financial worries.

So does this mean we all just run and hide? That depends…

While the holidays bring challenge, they also bring opportunity.

Opportunity to stand in your truth.
Opportunity to release old patterns that no longer feel good.
Opportunity to grow and develop new traditions that nurture your soul.

Over the past 5 years, I have evolved from someone who was as excited as my children to open the stockings overflowing with every goody imaginable to someone who contemplates carefully how to give in a way that is purposeful…that is loving, appreciated and of service to humanity.

The myriad gift cards for nieces and nephews already living plentiful lives have become contributions to various charitable organizations in their name, such as Heifer International. I know their parents are ensuring they have plenty to open.

My mother looks forward to her favorite date book, crystallized ginger and an annual membership to the Mystic Seaport. She loves the idea of a gift that allows her to attend lectures and seminars on sea tales and historical shipping that she can share with her husband through the coming year.

My father looks forward to a book and a donation to Natural Resources Defense Council. He is thrilled, because all he really wants is to see his children and grandchildren.

My children list their top 3 gift choices knowing that our family belief of giving at the holidays has changed. And they are contentedly satisfied. They already know how blessed they are. They know they don’t need another video game that will be played for 2 days and then collect dust until it’s either broken or given away. Just recently they witnessed the Barbie dollhouse that was enjoyed a handful of times, then moved to the corner of the playroom, then moved to the attic, then moved to the garage and then taken to the dump. They are aware of excess “things” in our lives and are appreciative of our lessons in conscious giving.

Close friends on my list look forward to a “little something” that will encourage them to explore their individual spirituality and goddess selves. And I look forward to their reciprocal gesture.

Over the past 5 years, I have developed guidelines that my gifts fit at least one of these criteria and are:
• Paying it forward to someone in need
• Making the world a better place for my children to grow into
• Bringing people together in a sharing experience
• Providing service
• Opening doors for personal growth

So what do I get my brother who works 70 hour weeks, has everything he wants, but expects an expensive sweater and would just not understand the idea of a charitable contribution in his name? I remember his passion as a child of sailing and I wonder if bringing this love of the ocean back into his reality will help him retrieve his connection with the natural world and nurture his soul. Perhaps he would enjoy The Eternal Sea, by Christian Buchet and Philip Plisson with hundreds of breathtaking photos of the ocean or a copy of The Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick to read on his business travels.

As I reflect on this change which is in direct correlation with my deepening relationship with the angels, I observe others around me doing the same thing…wanting to give back….wanting to serve….wanting to replace their prior habits of giving on the physical level to giving on the spiritual level.

And I smile knowing that our world is moving in the direction of Peace. And I wonder, are the challenges of the season decreasing proportionately as people evolve into giving from the heart AND soul?

As you give, so you shall receive.

Tis the season to remember who you really are!

I wish you a joyous holiday season filled with love, laughter and all things good.

Blessings of Love, Joy and Abundance,
Rev. Nina Roe

P.S. For those of you thinking my daughter must be from another planet, as December 25th draws near, she timidly begins to share her “list” of 3 things and looks forward to sharing holiday time with family and friends.