Extravagant Gift

I have never been good at receiving gifts. Especially generous ones. I like to be the giver. And receiving something in my mind I haven’t “earned” is often difficult for me. We have been through some hard things as a family recently, some I have talked about here, my health issues for instance. Some I have not. 

We just recently lost one of our cars in an accident (no one was hurt, but the person responsible left the scene). We were down to 2 cars and 4 drivers, while aiming to gain another driver next summer, but decided to just make it work for now. My parents decided though, to go and do something crazy, and give me a new car. My husband searched high and low for what he thought would be the perfect choice for me, a hybrid 8 passenger Toyota Highlander, and after they all agreed, they surprised me with it on my birthday. To say I was overwhelmed, humbled and completely shocked would be an understatement. 

I was telling a friend about it today. She asked me about the color. I said, it looks black but in the sun there are sparkles of dark blue. She said “Oh! It’s like, Our Lady in the Dark!”  I almost cried. (Our Lady, Mary, has been associated throughout the history of the church with the color blue)

I started thinking about all the “darkness” we have felt as a culture this past year, and then personally as a family. As we begin Advent and wait for the Light of the World, but are still sitting in darkness, who is our companion waiting with us, holding our hand, encouraging us to have hope and not despair? I am throwing out a new name, Our Lady in the Dark. This afternoon, My 18 yr. old daughter, gave this to me as a belated birthday present. Having not been privy to any of these thoughts. Just. Wow. 

 I also started thinking about the season we are approaching. How salvation is an unmerited gift. And we can either embrace it and accept it with joy, seeing the extravagant love of God the Father for us, or ignore it, even reject it. 

I received an extravagant gift. And I see God the Father’s love for me all over it. but we all received an extravagant gift. wrapped in swaddling clothes. And as we prepare this Advent season to rejoice in that gift, Mary is whispering in the dark “hold on, something good is coming, something amazing, just wait and hope in God.” 

And that’s how me telling you about my birthday present, turned into a post about Advent, Our Lady, and Christ our Savior all wrapped up in one. 🤷🏻‍♀️