I can still remember the lyrics of the song "And the Gift goes on" and I quote:
"When your life is full of Christmas then your life is full of love
You can give away the present that began with God above
Just like ripples in the water the circles of our love extend
What was started with the Father is a Gift that has no end,"
When I think of how my Ate May extends her love even in her wheelchair bound body, I know she understands very well the meaning of the the life which is full of Christmas.
Every Christmas, since she became the bread winner in the family, she would prepare the new peso bills from the bank to give away to children who would come to our house on Christmas day. She does not want the idea of hiding, even if times were hard. (Hiding from inaanaks (godchildren) is sometimes done to avoid spending too much on Christmas day.)
When she was diagnosed in June of 2007 with ALS, I supposed she can now retire from the Christmas tradition as she is now on disability and receives a very minimal monthly disability fund from the government.
However, because she understood the grace that came to us on the first Christmas, she could not help but again, this year to prepare for the coming of the children. Yes, she still gave out those new peso bills to visiting children this morning...and I could feel the love emanating from her frail body.
Eating and drinking has been harder for her lately, but she still keeps on giving...
