I can live a rather Scrooge-like

existence sometimes,

insulating myself from the world.

But then I am the poorer.

Poorer without the

connections to others,

my deeper self and,

mostly, with God.

When God is awakened

in my heart, much like

in the beloved Dickens’

character, I am giddy.

Giddy with an

unconditional love

that feels like

no other.

Love for my

children is the feeling

that comes closest.

Indescribable.

I like to call it

naked-to-naked.

That’s what we named

it when we held our babies,

skin to skin.

Nestled up close where,

I believe, Spirit would

always have us.

It is we who wander.

And for me, it is the

vulnerable baby

we are reminded of

this time of year …

in the throngs of charged

shoppers and baited bargains

… the small being that someone

who loved us so much sent,

that reaches inside of me.

This baby was a gift, I

believe. God’s way of

touching us with our own

humanity, teaching us

there is a place within,

that Jesus modeled,

where we can always

be naked to naked.

When we unwrap

our Scroogeness,

we have the best

gift possible:

ourselves as

God sees us.

That’s when we

know God’s pure

gaze of love.