Isn’t it hard to believe that Christmas is over once again? Two months have flown by so quickly, yet the true spirit of Christmas lives on. I received a lovely Christmas present from a gentleman in his mid seventies whom I hardly know. He is actually a dear and long time friend of my sister.
I am a fairly new TWG member (summer 2009) and I am also a new author (spring 2009). I feel that a great gift has been bestowed upon me at this later stage in my life in what I refer to as the beginning of my twilight years. After completion of my first book I’m Not Perfect and It’s Okay, I found such wonderful support from my husband, my family and my friends. This, too, felt like a generous gift which created that Christmas feeling all year long.
The gentleman I mentioned earlier became a fan of mine shortly after he read my first book. On completion of reading it, he demonstrated a keen desire to read more. He eagerly accepted to read the manuscript for my second book. Are you like me? Do you like immediate feedback? Do you patiently wait to hear or read the reactions of others to what you have so carefully written? Our words are so important to us because they are an expression of our innermost self that we are choosing to share with others. This choice involves risk. I feel I show my faith the most when I am prepared to take that risk. By choosing to share my words with you today I am taking a small step in my life journey in order to grow in faith.
On Christmas Eve, shortly before my sister’s friend was to attend Midnight Mass, he gave me the most incredible Christmas gift. I had sent him my second manuscript a few weeks earlier and was waiting patiently to get some feedback. He wrote that he was reading the chapter titled God’s Wife and he was so moved by it that he decided to immediately e-mail me. He mentioned that he was reading my manuscript much like he was enjoying Christmas candy. He was reading slowly to better absorb and digest my words and their meaning. He said that he was enjoying what I had written in the way that I meant it to be read, slowly, very slowly, one chapter at a time to “savour the flavour”.
I think that is an excellent expression to describe the Christmas Season. The true meaning of Christmas is meant to be savoured all year long because it is the gift that keeps on giving. Savour the flavour…hmmm, hmmm good or should I say hmmm, hmmm, God? What wonderful gifts God has in store for us all!
Posted by Dolores Ayotte
Author of I'm Not Perfect And It's Okay
Website: http://www.doloresayotte.com/
Email: doloresayotte@shaw.ca
This article was previously posted on authorsden.com on February 7, 2010
1 comment:
Thank you, Dolores, for bringing back a savour and flavour of Christmas. We may sometimes say that Christmas (in the sense of Immanuel, "God with us")is truly an all-year thing, yet we so easily relegate it to a brief season.
This lovely response of your sister's friend was truly a gift to you; and his generosity of spirit, through your telling it, is now a gift of powerful example to us.
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