Four Gifts - by Sharon Flood Kasenberg

Four Gifts:

Let laughter ring out like the bells
that flying reindeer wear -
to warm our hearts through winter nights
and lighten every care.
Let friendship's glow enhance our lives
like twink'ling lights on tree,
and lift our spirits with its light
so we'll in darkness see.
Let love burn bright in every heart
like yule log on the hearth,
that all may feel its radiance
and hope might fill the earth.
Let voices raise in carols sweet
proclaiming precious gifts,
to sing of laughter, friendship, love,
and hope that ever lifts.
Whatever else we lack or want,
if these four gifts we give -
we'll surely see them multiplied
through all the days we live.

Sharon Flood Kasenberg, December 24th, 2016

Last night we hosted friends in our home, and my new old house was filled with the sounds of laughter and friendly chatter. Some of the people we invited we didn't know all that well, and we wondered whether our invites - given on short notice - would be accepted. But almost everyone we invited came. Most were neighbours who already knew each other, two were guys who did so much work on our house last fall that they started to feel like family, and one was an old high school friend who traveled a couple of hours to share supper, goodies and conversation with a room full of strangers.

My high school friend and I reconnected on Facebook six or seven years ago. He was a guy I met at the lunch table the first week of ninth grade - never a romantic interest, just a buddy. I've joked that you never forget your first boyfriend, and that you likewise never forget the guy who skipped class to sit in the cafeteria and pass you kleenex when you suffered through the breakup with your first boyfriend, and Phil was that guy. So a few years ago we reconnected in person, and after decades of not seeing each other discovered that we still enjoy each others' company. (I think he also likes my cookies : ))

It's fairly hard for me to extend myself socially. My range of comfort is small, and just passing out invitations was difficult. We are the newbies here - I didn't know what any of my invitees would like to do, or what they liked to eat. Maybe they'd find my shindig boring. (Maybe they did - but if so they were all too nice to let on.) What I do know is that it felt like there was easy comaraderie, the conversation didn't lag. We laughed together, they ate my food (and seemed to enjoy it), and they all thanked me for the invitation when they left.

Phil remarked as he was leaving that it was so nice to see neighbours come together and seem to enjoy each other. I'm sure there are people here in my town who don't like each other much, or who just don't intermingle because they feel they have little in common. Maybe some of the people who came here last night feel that way about others who came. I don't know - but really that doesn't matter. What's important is that they all came and visited with us, and that we sensed no discord. Our furnace repair guy seemed to bond with the guy across the street, and one set of neighbours who moved into their home several months before us got to meet someone new to them in our small town. I hope everybody here benefited from our shared evening in some small way.

As I laid in bed last night, I felt hopeful that these new acquaintances would someday become really good friends. Each of them has already demonstrated kindness and generosity, decency and inclusiveness. I thought back over the evening, and how good it felt to bring together old friends and new friends, and to have their laughter echo through the rooms of an old house that is still new to us. That gathering brought together the best gifts we can give and receive - laughter, friendship, love - and the hope that all of the three endure in our lives.

These four things are gifts that never stop giving. I don't really care what presents I get tomorrow. Last night reminded me that I have enough, and that as long as I'm open to new friendships, to hospitality and laughter, to love and to hope, I will always have more than enough.

Merry Christmas to all of you, and may you each enjoy gifts of laughter, friendship, love and hope in the year to come.