Dear Friends,

What would giving be without a receiver?  I think about Epiphany, or King’s Day as we know it in New Orleans, every year.  What would their gifts have meant if the Christ Child wouldn’t have been there?  I can hear some of you saying, “Wait a minute – Christmas is over!  Enough already!  Let’s move on.”  You will have to forgive me.  I am writing this New Year’s letter on December 9.  I am still excited about all that is yet to come.  Seriously though what a statement it is that as soon as Christmas is over we want to pack up everything and move on.  The house has been turned upside down long enough.  I want to have some of the old stability of life back.  What do we learn from a statement once we have removed the guilt from saying such a thing.  I don’t think there is anything wrong with saying let’s move on.  What I invite us to do is look at what this might say about being a receiver.

I love to remind my family about Christmas coming two months ahead of time so they don’t forget to buy me presents.  I joke with them about this, but I have to tell you I don’t mind receiving gifts.  My family will assure you of that fact.  I believe life is a gift.  I took a walk this morning by the levee and saw the colors of fall.  I know some people say we don’t have seasons in New Orleans, but I don’t agree.  We don’t have radical shifts in color or temperature, but there are changes which occur.  It is colder now, the trees in the swamp are bare and there are red, oranges and a lot of drab colored leaves falling to the ground.  I was a receiver of these gifts today.  I also find, as I look for them, God.  Bt letting myself be aware of these gifts in Nature my life is enhanced.  Do I do this all of the time?  Of course not.  Sometimes I am a good receiver, and when I am I have an Epiphany of God’s Love in my life.

What are we passing by in our lives when we are not good receivers?  What may be stopping us from thinking it is alright to be a receiver rather than a giver?  Lets address the last question first.  Do we ever feel like we are not worthy of being a receiver?  God really doesn’t want to give us anything, especially after all we have done to reject God – Right?  A yes to either of those questions will tell us we have spiritual work to do this New Year.  God does not give to us because we are worthy or have been perfect.  No, God gives to us in spite of that,  You see God is the ultimate Giver.  All God is doing is waiting for us to accept this spiritual truth.  That is when we become a receiver.  Now we do not pass by the gift of the person we love, live with or have as a friend.  We start to look for the good in them.  In the process we find ourselves receiving the positive aspects of life.  We start standing on tip toe watching for what God has next.  I happen to believe we practice being a receiver all of our lives so we can accept the ultimate gift – eternal life.  By doing our spiritual work we get what we know will be given to us.  See why it is so important to see God as a loving Giver?   Have any ideas in this area?

I hope this letter has provided some epiphany’s for you.  Won’t you join me in a New Year’s resolution of being a receiver of God’s endless Love?  By the way it is the kind of resolution you might break, but can go right back to with renewed enthusiasm.  See the gift found in being a receiver?

Happy New Year,

Gary