"So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known."
The summer I am seven-years-old, I learn to ride a bicycle. We are staying with my grandparents and one of my cousins graciously lets me borrow her bike in order to practice.
I spend hours and hours, trying and trying, to make that bicycle balance. Carry me more than a few feet before I take a tumble.
I'm frustrated by my fruitless efforts, but I refuse to give up. I never doubt for one minute that I'll get the hang of it.
When at last I do, I am overjoyed! Oh, what a thrill to feel the wind in my hair and on my face as I peddle gleefully up and down my grandparents' street. Freedom never felt so free!
And, from that moment on, all I can think about is having a bike of my own.
I decide to ask for one for Christmas. A blue one because that's my favorite color.
"We'll see," says Mom.
"We'll see," says Dad.
I sigh, hoping that means "yes" in adult speak.
About a week before Christmas, I am bouncing a small, rubber ball in the hallway. It escapes me and rolls into my parents' room. Hits something under the bed. Rolls back out.
What's under there?
I have to see. I get down on hands and knees and peer under the bed.
To discover, both to my delight and dismay, a long, rectangular cardboard box with the unmistakeable letters "bicycle" printed on the side. Delighted because I really will be getting a bike for Christmas. Dismayed because the secret is out.
And, because of that, I don't think I'll be able to act surprised on Christmas morning. Oh, how that would hurt my parents! They so look forward to seeing our amazed and joyful faces . . .
To my immense relief, I don't have to fake my emotions when I lay eyes on that bicycle Christmas morning. I am mesmerized by its shiny, royal blue paint reflecting the lights on the tree. It is more amazing than I could ever have dreamed!
Larger, much larger, than the one I learned on. With gaily colored streamers flowing from the handlebars. Scintillating chrome trim. A handy wire basket. A delightful "brrringing" bell.
My priceless bicycle. No longer hidden in a box. But, lovingly assembled by Dad and out in the open for all the world to see.
And, I can't wait to show it to the world!
~
What was the most memorable gift you received as a child?
Will you pray with me?
We are thankful, Father, that no secrets can be kept from You. You know us inside and out, our comings and goings, our thoughts, our dreams, our hopes. Thank You for always being there for us and for loving us as Your children. Amen.
It was a make-up doll, you know the one with only the head and neck and hair that you can do up with toy lipstick and brush her hair.
ReplyDeleteMy dad was an OFW, meaning he spent some years away from us in a foreign land to earn a living. That toy came out of the earnings he made as an OFW. I remember how proud I was to have it.
Brings back many memories...God was providing for us, even then when we didn't know him yet.
Nice post, Martha.
Have a good day!
What a neat gift to remember, Mary. Especially since it brings back loving memories of your dad and how hard he worked to provide for your family.
DeleteAnd, isn't it amazing that our loving God loves us before we even know how to love Him back?
Blessings!
In the moment, gifts like these seem monumental. Isn't it funny that I can barely remember any of great importance now. Only one came to mind which was the Gretsch White Falcon guitar I received in my late teens. Yet at Christmas the tree always had ample gifts underneath. I think that is why I like to give memories/experiences instead of things.
ReplyDeleteI love that you give memories/experiences as gifts. I'll always remember and cherish every cabin visit and my swim with the gentle giants. Those are the gifts that keep on giving!
DeleteLove you, Baby!
Great post Martha! It honestly is hard to pinpoint one thing, my parents always gave great gifts/presents on Christmas & birthdays.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting today, RoseAnn!
DeleteNice to know you received so many wonderful gifts that you can't choose just one. Wow!
Blessings to you!
Your first post as MOMH and I love it, Martha. I think the biggest present I received was a bicycle - but I treasured the surprise gifts of books so much more.
ReplyDeleteI like the verse you've used. What a great and marvelous gift of love our Father gives us every day.
PS: That little girl's expression is priceless!
Thanks so much for coming by, Corinne!
DeleteSo glad you enjoyed the post today. I, too, always loved getting books for Christmas or on my birthday; I was such an avid reader and still am.
Yes, what a marvelous, daily gift we have in God's great love.
Blessings to you!
I was reflecting on this on my way home ~ there's an unknown side of me to my friends and it's an addiction I can't still let go of...what if I get exposed? When will I be ready?
ReplyDeleteAnd the fact remains...even if it remains hidden to people, God knows who I am inside out ~ there's no escape.
I loved how you made your reflection so light...leaning on the positive side that God knows everything...I pray with you that we may always live in the light in Christ's love :)
Thanks so much for coming by, Melissa!
DeleteYes, our God DOES know us, with all our imperfections and shortcomings, inside and out. I'm not sure that other people need to know our secrets. Knowing that God knows and will help us change what we cannot on our own is the only reassurance we need.
I'm glad this reflection touched you so deeply.
Blessings to you!
What an enjoyable post Martha. Reflecting back to the cherished memories of a childhood Christmas. I remember a gift that I came across by accident. I was getting ready to go to bed Christmas Eve and as I was leaving the living room, something behind the couch caught my eye. It was a 'girl and her horse'...I can't remember the name now, but it was something I wanted so very bad. I continued to leave, without ever missing a beat. But, I laid awake all night waiting for morning so that I could play with my new gift ☺
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting today, Mary!
DeleteOh, what a wonderful story you've told here. Getting that unexpected glimpse of a coveted gift and then being too excited to sleep because all you could think about was the joy of playing with it the next day. I never slept well on Christmas Eve as a child - always too anxious for those gifts!
Blessings to you!
Oh Martha, it felt like I was there with you seeing the box, feeling the excitement! My favourite gift must have been a doll that I really wanted. It was a baby angel and if you pressed the arm, tears came out of the eyes. I loved that doll! Great post Martha! Have a blessed weekend.
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by today, Nelieta!
DeleteThat doll sounds incredible - I've never seen one like this. I wonder if they are still made today? Would love to give something like this to my granddaughter!
So glad you enjoyed the post.
Blessings to you!
when my older brother left for college I cried for a week straight...he came home the next weekend and brought me a plastic vanity...I can still picture it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming by, Annmarie!
DeleteAww! What a sweet thing your brother did for you! I know you must have treasured that vanity.
Blessings to you!
Life has a way of helping one still be convincedly surprised even after "the jig is up." I imagine you riding down the street hair flowing behind you, yelling "weeeeeeee" like the Geico pig in the commercials. If you didn't weeee please don't tell me I really like this visual. lol
ReplyDeleteMy present that was the most touching on Christmas was when I was 26 years old. I would be at my aunt's house cleaning and every time a commercial came on for The Backstreet Boys album I would drop everything I was doing and run to the tv. I didn't realize how obvious I was until Christmas day when we were all gathered at my aunts house in the living room. By the packaging I knew it was a CD but, thought it had to be Elvis because EVERYONE knows that I love him. When I opened it I was shrieking with delight, tears streaming down my eyes, speechless... now every time I get a gift of any kind I sob like a baby just like I did that day.
Thanks so much for stopping by today, Jenni!
DeleteOh, Lordy, I LOVE this image! That's one commercial I can't help but laugh at every time I see it. Yes, I think I emitted quite a few "wees" and "wahoos" as I rode. :)
And, what a wonderful story you have shared here about your gift. Isn't it just grand when our loved ones notice our likes and interests and act on them? That had to be the perfect Christmas! Thoughtful gifts like that always leave me in a puddle, too.
Blessings to you!
It was my Glow friend - a toy which was made up of some thing like a radium and used to glow in the dark. I used to keep it near by bed when I went to sleep. It made me feel safe as if He is watching over me.
ReplyDeleteI still have it :)
Thanks so much for dropping in today, Me!
DeleteOh, I remember those! What a sweet story and so touching that you've hung onto this toy to this day. He was, indeed, a comforting companion to have. :)
Blessings to you!
Beautiful post Martha. I could visualize your surprise and joy. I am really trying to remember a gift I got, but nothing is coming to my mind now :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by, Nikky!
DeleteGlad you enjoyed the post. Give it time . . . maybe you'll recall that special gift.
Blessings to you!
Actually one of my most memorable gifts as a child was the bicycle my grandparents gave to me one Christmas. I was elated as I had outgrown my former bike for some time and still hadn't gotten a new one. I remember on that frigid December's day not thinking twice about taking it for a ride down our road.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for visiting, Jessica!
DeleteThat's so cool that both our special presents were bicycles. :) Yes, cold or not, I know I was eager to pedal it outside just as soon as I could.
Blessings to you!
Ooh your post made me miss riding my bicycle! And I love it how our parents wanted to surprise us when we were kids!
ReplyDeleteAs far as I remember, the most memorable gift I received as a child was my very first Barbie doll! I remember wishing to have my own when I saw other girls dress and comb the hair of their glamorous dolls. My mom even told me to ask Santa for my Barbie doll. And when I did receive it on Christmas that same year, I felt like the happiest little girl! :-)
Congratulations on your first post as MOMH, Martha! Happy weekend and God bless! <3 :-)
Thanks so much for coming by, Irene!
DeleteGood old Barbie has been popular for a long time. I remember my friend got one when we were about six and I liked playing with the doll whenever we visited her. What a wonderful surprise that must have been for you on that Christmas - and, yes, parents do love to surprise their children! :)
Thanks, too, for the congrats.
You have a marvelous and blessed weekend, too!
lovely post... I got all teary eyed reading. One year on my birthday my youngest daughter (3 at the time) gave me my 1st ever surprise birthday party... I get teary eyed just thinking about it. She handled everything from menu to attendee's. It was too cute, she invited her dad, sister and several of her stuffed animals... the kids and their Dad screamed surprise and sung me Happy Birthday. She got into my stash of birthday supplies and decorated the dining room, and served yogurt. It was the sweetest, kindest, and the best gift ever!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping in, Amy!
DeleteOh, what a sweet, poignant story! What a precocious three-year-old to be able to put all that together so seamlessly for you. I know that will probably be your all-time favorite birthday memory forever. :)
Blessings to you!
First of all I love your new look...Meditations of the Heart is so perfect! Much like Danny I don't remember a specific gift that took my breath away and I am so totally with him on the giving experiences part. I do remember a similar surprise spoiled which was a Chatty Cathy doll, one of the first talking dolls which my parents were checking out on Christmas Eve thinking we kids were asleep. However we heard the doll "talking" and came out to see what was going on! They told us of course that we must of been "hearing things". I do remember that I always looked forward to getting something called a surprise ball and we got one every year. It was a ball of crepe paper wound tightly into a ball with all kind of little toys hidden in the wrapping of the ball. I don't think they even make them any more. This whole comment pretty much reveals how OLD I am:) Blessings!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for coming by, Lynne!
DeleteWhat a great story about the Chatty Cathy doll - I still remember the commercials that advertised her and how jealous I was of a friend who got one for Christmas. I wasn't envious because I liked dolls, but because it could "talk". I wanted my stuffed animals to be able to do that. :)
And, the crepe paper ball is a new one on me. What a neat idea, though!
I think we're both in the same age category . . . :)
Blessings to you and glad you like the new look.
The present that jumped in my mind was an electric train. When I went in to the tree, there was a ribbon tied to the tree leading upstairs. I followed it upstairs and there was the train already set up. I spent many hours with that train, but I think my dad liked it even more than I did!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by today, Galen!
DeleteOh, wow, what an incredible present! I have always loved trains, for real and toy, and I do recall my brother getting a small electric one that we so enjoyed.
I don't think the boy ever goes out of the man; that your dad liked it with you is a great testimony to time spent together. Bet there are some more memories there!
Blessings to you!
Oh Martha, this is too precious;-) You must have stopped believing in Santa by now?
ReplyDeleteBecause if you hadn’t, you might have been devastated instead of delighted!
One of these days I’ll tell you about my white go-go boots that I tagged on the Christmas list – on Christmas Eve! Little wonder Santa didn’t deliver the goods next morning.
Thanks so much for coming by, Debra!
DeleteSadly, a precocious, and I might add, obnoxious, girl at school informed me in first grade that there was no Santa Claus. Of course, I go home and ask my mother who feels she has to tell me the truth. Oh, the devastation I felt!
I'd love hearing more about the go-go boots saga, your eleventh hour gift request. :) Yes, I do remember those, but never had a pair myself.
Blessings always!
Dear Martha,
ReplyDeleteThis story makes me misty...
My father told me he would get me a bike AFTER I learn how to ride one. So, when I was in 1st grade, I stayed home from school one day determined to teach myself on my older sister's brand new bike (hehe!)
Your story reminded me of my own experience. Get up. Fall down. Get up. Fall down. We lived on a gravel road so it didn't go too well for my sister's bike or for my tender young skin. But, I was riding that bike before the other kids got home from school -- one of my proudest accomplishments to this day ;-)
My dad backed out of his promise because he said he didn't expect me to learn so quickly. But, eventually, he must have felt guilty and bought me a cheap used (blue, too!) bike from a neighborhood garage sale...
Thanks so much for stopping by, Linda!
DeleteWhat a great story you have shared here. Gravel road? Now, that HAD to be so tough! And, you certainly deserve to still feel proud of that accomplishment.
Sorry to hear that your dad was a bit of a Scrooge, but glad you at least got some kind of bike out of the deal after all. Blue, too! :)
Blessings to you!
This brought back so many good memories of Christmas with the family, opening presents and simply having a wonderful time.
ReplyDeleteNo particular gift comes to mind right now but what I hold memorable was the wonder I always had a child in opening presents. All of a sudden, the world seemed so much brighter and happier with one single gift.
Just found your blog and totally love it! Following you now :)
Thanks so much for stopping by, Anne!
DeleteI'm so glad you have found my blog, and that you will be back. I will have a new post up tomorrow.
Yes, the thrill of opening gifts as a child was wondrous for me, too. Almost better than the gift itself!
Blessings to you and great to have you on board!
A time traveler story. Wonderfully executed. When the writer takes the reader flying back in time or anywhere for that matter, it's a wonderful thing. For me, it was my stereo, which enabled me to play my 45's. Thanks, Martha. I enjoyed the trip down memory lane.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by, Brenda!
DeleteSo glad this post took you down memory lane - it can be such a fun place to visit. And, yes, I remember 45s quite well. :)
Blessings to you!