There is a Christmas song I love with its simplicity of emotion and expression; however, as with many songs or writings, there-in lies a depth that many times can be overlooked. Little Drummer Boy is one such song. It is a story of a little boy who did not have anything to present to the newborn King, Jesus. His plight described his love but also his ultimate desire to give to the King of Kings. The song continues with his thrill of giving all he had… his drum and its drum beats. I related to this adored song because I have wanted to give to my Lord and King, Jesus, but didn’t know what I could give. What could I possibly give to the One who has everything? I realized, like the little drummer boy, I could give all I have… my life and the beats of my life.
Offerings
Dear ‘LifeBeats’ friends,
I mentioned in my first writing why I refer to our day-to-day experiences as ‘LifeBeats.’ If we breathe, we have life experiences, some good, some bad, some happy, some sad. I will continue sharing some of my earlier life beat experiences as well as recent ones.
My husband and I were able to go to the beach recently. We hadn’t been to the ocean for a few years, so it was a real treat when our friends invited us. I loved watching the seagulls and pelicans fly overhead looking for any free handouts or, when these adept hunters actually had to ‘work’ for their food, plunge into the water headfirst, retrieving the smaller fish and eliminating them with one gulp. Their constant squalls reminded me of children at a picnic constantly shrieking for food and attention.
As I felt the warmth of the sun and the gentle breeze on my face, I closed my eyes, breathed in deeply, and whispered, “Thank you, my King, for creating this wonderful world to enjoy and experience Your handiwork.”
I reached down and felt the warm sand, so fine it felt like white powder running through my fingers. My gaze extended to the water slowly lapping onto the beach, chasing the small birds waiting for any treasures that might have washed ashore. Their little toothpick legs always outran the surf as though getting wet was the worst thing that could happen to them. The endless water that now was gentle could change and become fierce and foreboding. I was glad that day it was at peace allowing me to relax.
As I experienced those wonderful moments, my thoughts went to my Lord, wanting to show Him my gratefulness and somehow give Him something… an offering. How can I give Him anything that He doesn’t already own or can’t create? I looked around as I sat in my chair, which was partially buried in the white, soft sand, and saw the many assorted shells mostly broken by their turbulent journeys from the ocean floor and thought, I can give Him back what He gave to me! I became excited as I searched through the many colorful pieces. Each one was examined for its beauty and completeness.
My husband’s expert eye dug through the sand, finding some that weren’t broken. “Hey, this is a keeper! I’d like to
keep this one!” “No, Hon, if we like this one, then He will, too,” I replied with my head down, still digging through the sand. He quickly placed it on our pile. I knew he agreed with me because his love for his Jesus is continual. He and I have been giving similar ‘offerings’ to our Lord over the years we have been on trips. It has almost become a tradition. The Rocky Mountains have their offerings of pine cones, rocks, fallen pine tree branches and wildflowers.
We continued making our ‘offering,’ finding small pieces of watery wood and washed up grasses from the ocean’s floor into an attractive arrangement and topped it off with a hand-drawn heart stenciled in the sand by my husband’s index finger. As we looked at our completed artwork, we lowered our heads.
While the seagulls soared overhead making their screeching sounds, we prayed, “Lord, thank You for allowing us to be here to experience Your beauty. Please accept our offering to You. Each shell shows Your beauty. We love You, our King, so much. We give back to you, in this small way, our thanksgiving and gratefulness to be here to enjoy You.” Staying with our heads lowered, eyes closed, each voicing our praise to Him, we felt His presence.
After a while, we folded our chairs, traipsed through the soft powdery sand, and returned to our room. I tell you of this LifeBeat because it is something we all can do. The ‘offering’ does not have to be large or elaborate but can be simple and small. Our offering on the beach was not large to be observed by others, but we knew He knew right where it was and felt our hearts of love. Remember, He sees everything, knows our longings, disappointments, and victories. He will see your ‘offering’ anywhere you go or any place you stay. He just loves and wants us to remember to appreciate and be grateful to Him.
Why don’t all of us give an ‘offering’? It can be a handful of grass from our backyards along with one or two flowers that may be in bloom and twigs from our trees. Our trips to Colorado became an opportunity to give pine cones and branches, wildflowers, old tree wood, cactus, and different colored rocks. The events can be limitless. Let’s just look for opportunities to thank Him. Remember, don’t be hesitant if you think, I don’t think this is grand enough. I don’t want to insult Him because it is too small. He reads our hearts. If we are to give Him larger offerings, He will tell us.
We can be creative and also include our children with their delightful imaginations. They love doing this since their world involves creativity all the time. They will also be glad to present their ‘gifts’ and form their own relationships with their Lord. It can be a wonderful family project or tradition. This is a small-but-very-huge-in-its-impact way to say, “Thank You, Lord, for this LifeBeat today.”
©TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHY, NEW VENTURE ARTS
LifeBeatsCorner, Creative, Writing, Inspiration, DrummerGirl, SelfHelp, Hope
Featured Image By Jim Baird
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on lifebeatscorner.com.
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