A glass hummingbird feeder, topped with a red metal lid and attached to a red feeding base with six drinking holes, sways gently in the breeze. Suspended from a bracket attached to a back porch column, the feeder beckons hummingbirds during the spring and summer months. Once one of these small creatures sets up residence near the the feeder, he chases away all other would-be partakers.
When the sugar water runs low, the resident bird will fly close to anyone on the porch, then back to the feeder, then back to the person. Its message is as loud and clear as if the tiny feathered fowl could utter words. “Refill the tank!…please.”
A dear friend, recently deceased, gave me this gift one Christmas years ago. At the time, four friends met monthly for dinner. It was a great chance for us to see one another, catch up on each other’s news and just enjoy each other’s company. We always had plenty of joint memories to share, too.
Shortly after we had established our routine, this friend suggested we exchange Christmas presents. She loved both giving and receiving tokens of love. Each year, she always found some novel gift for each of us. On occasion, she did not give us the same item; rather each was chosen for the individual in mind. When we exchanged gifts, she, almost childlike, could hardly wait until we opened hers. She so wanted each of us to be pleased. Pleasing us was far more important to her than anything material item we could give her.
Shopping for friends, who were downsizing, was a more difficult task for me. I often settled for new Christmas tree ornaments or books, two of my favorite gifts to give and to receive. Always, my three friends received the same gift. But remembering my friend's enthusiasm perked up my shopping.
These days, two decades later, my husband and I still enjoy this hummingbird feeder. As much as it has been cleaned, filled and used, we marvel that it still is in good condition. Of course, hummingbirds don’t weigh much and haven’t abused the feeder.
And so one morning this past summer as I watched the humming bird drink his fill, I concluded that all gifts should bring as much pleasure as this one has given us.
I wish I could tell my friend how I feel. Since I can’t, I opt to share my musings here. She not only gave her friends gifts; but for 19 years, she also directed the church’s children’s choirs which annually presented a traditional Christmas pageant in story and song - a gift for both the children and the audience alike, a gift that still prompts fond memories for me and I hope others.
And so, dear reader, picture three young boys, clad in bathrobes with a cardboard crowns painted gold atop their heads. Each carries a gift - gold, symbolizing kingship; frankincense, a perfume representing the priestly role; and myrrh, foreshadowing of death. As they walk down the aisle toward the stage, these pint size wise men sing, “We Three Kings of Orient Are.”
One by one, they place their gifts beside the manger. And all the children in the choir, some dressed as angels, two as Mary and Joseph, others as the shepherds sing, “Away in a Manger.”
Can you hear those youthful voices a caroling? And the director, in a lullaby, lifts her voice to sing “Sweet Little Jesus Boy.”
And what did the real Mary and Joseph do with those expensive gifts similar to the ones often presented to secular kings of the times? According to most Biblical experts, they sold them to finance their escape from King Herod. These gifts, memorialized in scripture, served the purpose of a gift given freely, and received humbly and gratefully.
A hummingbird feeder, a gift that keeps on giving, sways gently in the breeze to remind me not only of my friend and her giving ways, but also of all of the gifts from God, the Creator. This month we celebrate the birth of His Son, His most precious gift. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”John 3:16.
May all gifts that we give this season keep on giving pleasure for years to come if only in memories.
2019
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