Blue Bike Christmas

I will never forget Christmas morning 1969 when Santa brought me a “big girl” bicycle! It was perfect – a teal metal-framed bicycle with a wicker basket attached to the front handlebars! The basket and the banana shaped seat were both white with multi-colored daisies (my favorite flower then and now)! It was a dream come true, and I was excited to take her out for a spin on our quiet Lebanon street.

Then came the surprise: it had snowed during the night! Yes! As much as I normally loved playing in the snow, the disappointment of opening that front door to a snow-covered sidewalk and road ruined any hope of riding my brand-new beautiful bicycle on that Christmas morning. Of course, the streets were clear in a day or so, and I was able to ride to my heart’s content.

As the Amy Grant song, “Grown-Up Christmas List” says, my grown-up Christmas list includes nothing like a bicycle or really any gift that can be purchased with money. Many of us probably desire the lyrics found in her song: that no more lives would be torn apart, that wars would never start, that time would heal all hearts, that everyone would have a friend, that right would always win, and that love would never end.

My seven-year-old self truly had a lot to learn because as time reveals to all of us: “Heaven only knows that packages and bows can never heal a hurting human soul.” May those of us that are struggling a bit this year due to circumstances beyond our control remember that God provided the world with the ultimate gift of Jesus, who gives each of us everything we need - and more - in this journey called life.

Thank you, Lord, for loving us despite our human traits that often include fear and doubt. Thank you for the gift of Jesus who truly brings hope into even the darkest situations. Amen.