God, the Profligate Giver, Provides at Christmas

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God granted me an early Christmas this year, showering me with presents as perfectly suited for me as they were undeserved.

This has been a rough holiday season. Deadline after deadline have come fast and furious since Thanksgiving, and none of them have been flexible. On top of that, I have been experiencing a period of desolation brought about by me relegating God to fleeting moments of prayer snatched between the myriad activities that consume my time and attention.

On Saturday the week before Christmas I sought to return the focus of my life to its proper place. I undertook a daylong fast as penance. I also dedicated the drive down south, where I needed to attend the farewell reception for Sr. Yvonne Hatt, to a discussion with God. I apologized for setting him aside in favor of work and bird watching and writing essays for my spirituality class. I acknowledged the irony of studying the benefits of spirituality while at the same time failing to practice it. I looked at the past and present and tried to see God’s presence in my life, and just then, driving 80 miles an hour down Interstate 15, I saw a very large feathered object at the side of the road. I didn’t get more than a glimpse – I was passing a semi-truck at the time – but I was certain that the bird was a golden eagle.

I had never before seen a golden eagle in the wild, so I managed to find a place to turn around and get back to the eagle. It was still alongside the road, snacking on a dead deer. I pulled over, grabbed my camera and snapped half a dozen photos as the majestic bird flapped away.

Getting back in my car, I thanked God for this obvious sign of forgiveness. Then I continued my drive and my discussion until I reached the Convergence Trail in La Verkin. There I tried to simply put myself in God’s loving presence. The sunlit saunter along the restful waters of the river, during which I reflected on the 23rd Psalm, did indeed restore my soul. As a bonus, I was able to add yet another species to my list – the black phoebe.

Then, as I returned to my car, the reedy strains of a bagpipe carried through the air. After a moment I discerned a medley of Christmas carols, with the piper repeating bits here and there as though to get them down correctly. It was a perfect reminder that although the celebration of the birth of the Christ child is nigh, like the piper I need to get away to a quiet place to prepare, to clear out the false notes, to  sweep the hearth and set the table of my soul so it will be ready to receive the Guest on Christmas Day.

And here the story should end, because how much better could it be, that God restored me to his grace and also offered hope for the future? But God, our ever-gracious Father who provides for us so profligately, was not done with his giving. The next morning on my walk, as I sought a photo of a Savannah sparrow to add to my list, I got not only that common bird but also a dickcissel – a species so rarely seen in a Utah that this is only the 14th reported sighting since 1955. When I snapped the shutter I didn’t even recognize what I was photographing. It wasn’t until I went page by page through the bird guide that I was able to identify it. Then, when I posted the photo on Facebook, other birders alerted me to the rarity of the sighting, and one suggested I report it to the records committee.

And so it is with God. Sometimes we are speeding so fast through life that we can miss the majesty of his gifts, just like with the eagle. Other times, as with the dickcissel, their uniqueness requires work and the help of others to discern. However, God’s presents are always, always perfectly suited for us, and isn’t it just like our Savior to provide for us even on the day of his birth, when it is we who should be giving to him?

Marie Mischel is editor of the Intermountain Catholic.