Such a fantastic discovery this week; I just had to pause from my gentleness post to write about finding my Christmas ornament that I had been told 55 years ago had been broken!
Above is a photo of my ornament that I hung on our family tree Saturday evening. As a child, every year, I looked forward to hanging this special ornament on the family tree. I am not sure what drew me to it each year, but I do remember that to me, it was the most beautiful ornament on the tree. My four brothers had large round ornaments, all a different color, that was theirs to hang on the tree each year. But this was mine; it was distinct from theirs, and every year I looked forward to hanging it on the tree.
But in 1965, I went to get my ornament, and it was not there. I asked my mom where it was, and she said it had gotten broken. I assumed that when the decorations were put away the previous year, it must have been dropped.
I often thought about my beautiful ornament and kept my eyes open with the possibility of finding another one – another one, just like it! Many decorations have come and gone during our 55 years of marriage, but there has never been one that gave me such joy as ‘my special ornament’ – the only one of its kind!
Fast forward to 2020, December 6.
My brother’s wife passed away on November 24, and I asked God to show me how I could help my brother, Frank, and my nephew, Peter, through this challenging time they would be facing. In a telephone conversation with Frank a couple of days later, he said that no thrift store in their area would take used clothing, so he was going to begin throwing all of Ingrid’s clothing in the garbage. Instantly, the Spirit prompted me to say to him, “Frank, our thrift store will take the clothing. We will come down and pack everything and take it to our local thrift store.” His words were, “Sis, you will never know the weight that you have taken off my shoulders.”
As we were packing the cars, Frank asked me if I would like to take back all the Christmas decorations. He had no desire to put up any decorations. I looked at the two cars that were already packed and said sure. We can take back anything you do not want. It meant repacking the vehicles, but that was okay. We all pitched in and got the job done!
As Frank began handing me the boxes of ornaments,
I stood frozen in time!
I was holding a box with an ornament that looked precisely like my unique Christmas ornament. I thought – how could this be? I had never found another one, exactly like my particular ornament. I said to my son, David, “this ornament is exactly like the ornament that I hung on our family tree each year.” My heart was jumping with joy. It may not be my ornament, but it was exactly like the one I had lost, and that was good enough for me!
After arriving home and unpacking the car, I hung my ornament on our tree. But wait. I looked more closely at it; this was not like my ornament; this was my ornament! I could tell by the discoloration that had occurred over the years. But how could that be? Mom had said that it had gotten broken, but here it was – in my brother’s Christmas decorations! For whatever reason, mom had given the ornament to Frank and many other post-war ornaments still in fantastic condition.
The tears began to flow as I thought about this special gift of Love from my heavenly Father. At just the right time, and in His miraculous way, He returned my precious ornament, the one He protected for me for 55 years!
In a book that I have been reading, I read how Love is the most valuable weapon a believer has. God’s love will tear down the walls of despair, doubt, unbelief, bitterness. And that is what I have experienced in my life. God’s love includes unconditional acceptance, unconditional forgiveness. God’s love will enable us to forgive and forget what others have done to us unconditionally. We cannot do this naturally. Our negative thoughts and emotions will not go away on their own. Only by God’s love are the wounds we have received from others eliminated from our lives. As we choose unconditionally to forgive that other person, God pours His love into our souls; wounds and hurts are soothed, healed, and removed. Only when those arrows are removed can we genuinely forgive what others have done to us. Then, in God’s timing, He will align our feelings with our choices, and we will begin to “feel” that forgiveness.
When we choose to love and forgive unconditionally, we change, even if our situation remains the same or possibly has even become more difficult. As our relationship with our Lord becomes more intimate, we experience His supernatural love in ways we cannot even begin to imagine. Indeed God’s love never fails in the one who chooses to allow His love to flow through them.
In God’s gift to me, the return of my Christmas ornament is the result of His unconditional love for me and for my choosing to be an instrument of His love to both my mother and my family.