Christmas can be the hardest and the happiest time of year.
A gift of Christmas ornaments brings joy to lonely people in hospital rooms.
I knew I wanted to write when I was very young, and I had some wonderful mentors who encouraged me.
One was a lady named Selma, who I met in a raspberry patch in the raspberry capital of Canada, Abbotsford, BC. Selma was picking berries with her family that summer, back in the 70’s, and I was a teen away from home, working in the berry fields with my sister to make our summer money.
Selma was like a mother figure to us girls. We quickly found out that she loved to write, and a bond was formed that has lasted for decades.
Selma and I have stayed in touch over the years, and even though she was twenty-some years my senior, I always knew I could count on her hand-written Christmas letter each year, filled with news about her family and home-life, and the writing projects she was working on.
I enjoyed writing back to her each year, through the seasons of my life. And I continued to write… about being a young mother, about becoming a widow, about grief and loss, about the faith we shared.
Last year Selma sent me a link to an invitation to write for Christmas with Hot Apple Cider and encouraged me to submit a story. So I did!
It wasn’t hard to think of a Christmas story because Christmas is my favourite time at the hospital where I work as a hospital chaplain. A chaplain (by dictionary definition) is a spiritual presence in a secular setting, and I love the fact that I can bring faith, hope and comfort to those who need care and encouragement.
Part of that ministry has been to bring cards of scripture and encouragement, and little gifts of comfort and cheer. We do it up big at Christmas time! We bring carollers to the hospital and to the nearby extended care unit.
For a number of years I’ve had help creating hundreds of little “stockings” recycled out of old Christmas cards and stitched together with yarn. Inside each one, we place a bookmark, handmade and reproduced, as well as a candy-cane.
Last year, my friend Helen presented me with some Christmas ornaments, so this added to the cheer. I would go from room to room in the hospital, praying about who might need this gift the most.
The story I submitted for Christmas with Hot Apple Cider is about the joy of giving these precious gifts. For some, it was the only gift they received.
Helen, who lovingly created the many ornaments we gave away, is delighted that her love of crafting has brought joy to others. In fact, I hear she is already working on this year’s project as we look forward to another Christmas season.
For those of us who have much, the joy is in the giving. And for those who receive, it is the gift of love that reflects the gift of LOVE that is for all of us—the beautiful gift of a Saviour’s love, freely given and a joy to receive.
Grace Wullf is a chaplain, author, and artist who loves to connect with people through words and art. Her work in the hospital brings her much joy as she shares God’s love with patients and their families. Widowed at age 37, Grace has written extensively on the subject of grief and continues to support those who are on a journey involving grief. Her published work includes A Journey of Hope (Yellow Rose Publishing) and “Gifts for the Journey” (a booklet available from her website). Grace shares her life with her second husband, Steve, and loves being a grandmother to eight little people. She lives in Vernon, British Columbia.
www.gracewulff.com
Grace, I loved reading your story about The Christmas Ornaments. What a beautiful, thoughtful thing to do. Your heart is showing!
“The gift is in the giving”, the writer says. One of Grace’s gifts appears to be the ability to listen to know what God would have her give, and to whom.