(I wrote this quite a long time ago, but its been on my mind as the holidays are approaching…)
Today I am sitting looking at our Christmas tree. It is up and the little white lights are sparkling. Other than that it’s naked. It’s complicated decorating for Christmas with a potty training preschooler and a fussy infant, even if there are two adults in on the effort.
But I’m enjoying it for a moment – thinking about our holidays, the memories. Nostalgia is always a part of Christmas. I think of my loved ones – especially my grandparents who are in heaven now. But today, I have someone else on my mind.
It’s Michael’s granddaddy, John B Day the second. Truly, I did not know him well. He was advancing in age when I came on the scene. He was a widower and kept busy with gardening among other things. He was up early in the morning and to bed early as well. He loved God, he served his country and he provided for his family.
To claim I know a lot of first hand information about him would be illegitimate. But there is one thing I have heard about him. He was a generous man. I have heard so many stories of his giving. He would grow produce in his gardens all around the town of Signal Mountain and give them to anyone who needed them. He seemed to be the type of man who would give you the shirt from his back.
Let me tell you something I did experience first hand. It was his honey. My husband’s grandfather had beehives from the time Michael was little. I can tell you personally that the honey he harvested from those hives was magnificent. One of the first meals I had at the Day house included fresh, hot biscuits. Michael’s dad, John the third, held up this jar, almost ceremoniously and said that this was honey from one of his dad’s hives – would I like to try some? Of course I did, who can turn down fresh biscuits and honey? My taste buds have never been the same. The honey was exquisite – full of very distinct flavors from the flower gardens that bloomed all around the beehives and Mr. Day’s home. I would never be able to eat normal honey again.
Michael and I have been wanting our family to be a part of something bigger this Christmas. We want to give our family purpose and meaning – and also find a way to give Jesus a gift at his birthday. Some have labeled it “The Advent Conspiracy” in an attempt to put a title on this concept: we all need to turn away from the materialism of the season and move toward those in need. We embrace the concept but have not been sure how to put it into action.
A few months ago my husband received a Samaritan’s purse catalogue. There in the middle pages was a picture with beehives. You can give a certain amount and a beehive will be purchased and given to a family who needs an income. The hope is that they will be able to harvest and sell the honey and then be able to provide needs for their own family.
Here was a way for us to continue in the spirit of John Day’s life, giving to someone in need. A beehive. And it dawns on me. Michael’s granddaddy, in his consistent generosity was apart of the Advent Conspiracy all along – before it was ever labeled such.
Christ said in a parable in Matthew 25, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
By giving, to those in need, we are truly able to give just a small gift to our heavenly Father who gave His son for us.
Mr. Day passed away in 2007, so my children and I won’t have opportunities to get to know him better. But maybe at the great marriage supper someday we’ll all sit down together. We’ll tell him how his life inspired us to give to those who were in need. And maybe, just maybe we’ll share a hot biscuit and fresh honey while we chat. Could there be anything more heavenly?
md
(written on November 30, 2009)
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