A Gift for Three Kings' Day

In Mexico, January 6 marks the official end of the Advent/Christmas season. Today is the day to commemorate the arrival of the Wise Men to worship Jesus and present Him with their gifts. Children receive toys they have dreamed of all year and families and friends gather to eat together the "Rosca de Reyes" a delicious bread adorned with figs and dried fruit.

For the second year, our family has accepted the invitation to serve the noon meal and the "Rosca" to residents of our local "Asilo de Ancianos" (Home for the Elderly). The four of us greeted the "abuelitos" (grandparents), helped set up for the meal and served plates of roasted chicken, beans, rice and tortillas to the appreciative recipients, followed by the bread and a cup of hot chocolate.

Many of these precious abuelitos have no family in the area. The majority are sick and weak. Some need to be spoon fed, while others eat slowly with trembling hands. They especially loved seeing our girls and the children of the other volunteers.

We were there a couple of hours. We helped out where we could, shook hands, wished them well, and smiled a lot. It wasn't much and it didn't take long, but it reminded me of a song that became one of my favorites this past December.

Light your world let the love of God shine through;
In the little things you do, light your world.
And though your light may be reaching only two or three;
Light your world.
It only takes a little time to show someone how much you care.
It only takes a little time to answer someone’s biggest prayer.
Light your world….

By Eddie Caswell, Marc Aramain, Oliver Wells and Niles Borop
Sung by NewSong on the album "The Christmas Shoes"

It wasn't gold, frankincense or even myrrh, but hopefully our humble efforts to bring a ray of light to a few dozen older folks can be a gift worthy of our King.