To: Debbie
From: Jesus
Jesus,” reminding us that every good gift
ultimately came from Him.
Among my favorite possessions now
are ones that are not temporal; they are
those unending gifts of love, joy, peace,
and eternal life—you know, all those gifts
that read “To: Debbie, From: Jesus.” Many
things have changed over these many
Christmases past, but whatever has come
to Debbie from Jesus has remained.
Gift tags. Those little strips
of paper marked with
people’s names were among
my favorite memories of
Christmas—especially the
ones that read “To Debbie”!
No matter how rich or poor, my parents
worked hard to make Christmas a very
special occasion. My mom loved to decorate, so when Christmas time came around,
everything glittered that possibly could.
We walked around in a daze of decorations, lights and brightly wrapped presents
all around. We looked forward to the aroma
of baked cookies, ham, and potato soup
that always accompanied the day. We let
chocolate fudge melt in our mouths as long
as possible while waiting for our grandmas
and uncles and aunts to arrive. We anticipated the stockings full of fruit and candies
and small toys.
Then it was time to read those gift tags.
I was as excited to hear the ones that read
“From Debbie” (knowing that whatever
was in that present came from my heart) as
I was to hear “To Debbie,” because I knew
that whatever was in there came from a
heart of love for me.
My mom was saved in the early seven-ties through the witness of some longhaired hippies whom many called “Jesus
Freaks,” and suddenly Christmas took on a
whole new meaning: Jesus’ birth was
emphasized, the tree was a reminder of the
tree that Jesus died on, the evergreens were
a symbol of everlasting life, and suddenly
the gift tags all repeatedly declared “From
– Deborah Wuehler
