No Peeking

I can't believe that Christmas is next week ... seriously ... how can it almost be Christmas already? I'm all too aware that time passes much more quickly as I grow older, but this year ... gosh ... where has this year gone? I looked at the calendar several times today thinking surely I was mistaken and that Christmas had to be at least a couple more weeks away. Nope ... Christmas is next week ... Christmas is next week ... Christmas is next week. Maybe if I say it often enough it will actually sink in ... Christmas is next week ... seriously ... how can it almost be Christmas already?

Had my daughter-in-law not texted me last night to ask if a cell phone case she ordered and had shipped to my house had arrived, I probably wouldn't have noticed the package on my front porch or the two others tucked inside the storm door. As I retrieved them and carried them inside the house, I thought about how my mom used to always open her gifts the moment they arrived in the mail ... there was no way on earth that Mom was waiting until Christmas morning to open her presents ... any gift that arrived in the mail was immediately fair game for her to open. And back when our family all lived in the same town, we all knew not to take Mom's presents to her house until Christmas Eve when our family got together to exchange gifts. Even if we hid them, Mom would find them ... I swear, my sweet little mom was like a hound dog when it came to presents ... she would find them, open them, wrap them back up and then do a darn good job at faking her surprise and delight on Christmas Eve. I'm smiling and crying at the same time as I type tonight ... I sure do miss my sneaky little old mom ... I surely, surely do.

I was struck with a thought last night as I placed the packages on my kitchen table ... a thought that eventually worked itself out to be rather profound. A lot of us are like Christmas gifts ... we're all decked out in beautiful wrapping paper and we spend a lifetime trying every way we can to keep anyone from getting a peek at what's beneath all the glittery ribbons and bows. Here's the thing about beautifully wrapped packages, friends ... sometimes what's inside is exactly what we expected it to be, and sometimes it's ... well ... sometimes it's far from it. The truth is that some of the most beautifully wrapped packages ... some of those beautiful packages that look so perfect on the outside are anything but on the inside.

We had a white elephant gift exchange at work today, which, by the way, I've never done in my entire life. I sat there watching my co-workers as they picked from the wrapped packages that lined the table at the front of the room, trying to determine which one might contain the greatest treasure. I was fascinated as the "stealing" of the gifts commenced ... as I saw the old saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure" come to life right before my eyes. And here's where the profound part comes in ... so very, very, very many times, the parts of us that we try to hide beneath the wrapping ... the parts that we think are trash ... those are the parts that others often find to be our greatest treasures. It's when we're open, honest, real and transparent ... it's when we admit that we aren't perfect and allow those close to us to have a peek at our struggles ... it's when we're vulnerable and trust that those we love will love us no matter what ... it's when we believe that what we deem as trash may very well indeed be the treasure that helps another to find their way.

Maybe my mom had the right idea all along ... perhaps we'd all be better off if we peeked into one another's souls every now and then ... perhaps we would, friends ... perhaps we would indeed.