Once again, I have entered into the insanity of buying too many Christmas presents. When the children were young, it was an exciting moment as the UPS man arrived at our door, a few days before Christmas with several boxes of toys, carefully chosen from catalogues. They would be stuffed away in closets until the children had gone to bed where upon I would unpack and examine and touch every toy with such delight and then carefully rewrap them in the theme paper of that year. Some were beautiful and perfect and some were enjoyed briefly but never fully appreciated. Some remain tucked away in boxes…. waiting.
This year for Christmas, I had decided I would give my granddaughter- a Peter Rabbit tea set, similar to the set my daughters played with when they were young -only Wedgewood no longer makes such a set. So I hunted on ebay and was thrilled when I found not only one set but a huge assortment of serving dishes to go with the tea set. It could not have been more perfect… so I made my bid and with a cup of tea and kitty on my lap, I sat and waited. Someone countered and so did I. All was fine until the last sixty seconds when a bid appeared and with kitty and a cup of tea in hand, I scrambled to send out one final last bid but it never reached there in time. I felt violated. Someone stole my Peter Rabbit tea set that Kennedy and I were going to play with. So I settled for an plastic farm set with singing chickens.
Perhaps today, the modern educated mother looks for toys for her children that will stimulate and educate them. I always chose toys for my children that I hoped would become a part of their world and they would enter into the toy’s world, in a magical way that only children can do. And in doing so, they felt what it was like… to belong.
It was my delight and surprise when as an adult, I discovered that there remains a magical but very real place where we can go to and belong… that lifts us out of our sometimes disappointing times. It may take a long time to get there but once there, one cannot imagine life any other way.
What is your only comfort in life and in death?
That I am not my own but belong…
body and soul…
in life and in death…
to my faithful saviour Jesus Christ.
Heidelberg Catechism
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