%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R 19 0 R ] /Count 2 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R /F5 12 0 R /F6 14 0 R >> /XObject << /I1 15 0 R /I2 16 0 R /I3 23 0 R /I4 24 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 17 0 R /GS2 18 0 R /GS3 21 0 R /GS4 22 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text /ImageC ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 1.0.2 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20241220013715+00'00') /ModDate (D:20241220013715+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1835 >> stream xXMoFW1ȴ)i43Iصv"[bG$4G3rݟԇwHNaQW^}orWyDio*J5=UtcF:ZӎZ^rCۻ#mij)_~x eQL^>I,qnQ\ɘFZ'0߸MW%NŊeOFc߽,Jr&MSjoM-.|q3,z "e8 q2?9e3E笠K[i ]Eڐ;;4mx'gߟTQket+ ~lNDy2k+s-; qڒYĊQ+[mĶ!U^jkqAjՒ+pKOF#^V&$ X^5 [ډV5GvF¾4!j$`\n#TFjګQNGdsO#0ĉْn)p;#; h~9%OP'GXqT +Dgh++uk#z5!Fm p@T‘ 7C*d)B=zU+;Sj2QJY7'1`;(879nOp'`فu˭T;@gDQ9oPaA =N$ -4RNkN>Fn`Z d׺!fhi{ EHM\=\TrRHfhr\썲inwZPh؛e*wN2-7YA2935Ha[OoFWC)Iq[\uW·&Gjkb!8VY(S+u]YmèVwS-'(\+Uz_Z\>/!4,MjN_|Ğ>umr}D`"QtNЇF߉@oBH, ? JQ'1KУDq'DZ+éBIL60 fjNѡv5jFYr!٦mn}W#7ʉ#Ks9vJXcfX:/\L;m$uH~Naj9aSOd+'甴;0:b+KCjjX@BY!I2Rwޙu쯰-e&he !lE!ݣ}ԘfME/+uUK+}i;;=ZuV;KzƮG? f#:OCcz/hK,~.ɍ*G'iAO!$$qdO?}~oGPafϭ -(|`ogGɻkŨ> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F5 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Oblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 13 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F6 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj 17 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.3 >> endobj 18 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 19 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 20 0 R >> endobj 20 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1155 >> stream xV6WvG+ɖl6M"@nDIJJRvh w;z-s- 2I<*K :RJ~}qIvmiJ/m{ݎE$_ohWیJx&c }4PL&5AvO1 (> X񏃀:&G 0:̄ȞMFaGNsܣ &ϙJY TpV+(Yh0N-\V71T,I˘CP'S7%AQ@ |Yٚ5zFt a©m),U5/0*LUj33U(}XO4sً)d]t͡\5;dl8(Xi)`,tg"ZD$:gSVBagy+傔^ɫfBі sYp1@ͪ倵ޛC0DْlS.hыyʱ3! TM ٤1mHh?aoXzi>\ߛNuVn0'^_TQHKV/Ď(ud'mL`(м"33 G؋D1Wj2gS5N*&OܥdV( ).e3YDX*+c/o1|[s>8f[,/Rܗfx{}{[ ZTִ]i]YM2nJη|ʹ}(`ˤL/j\o eտw endstream endobj 21 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 1 >> endobj 22 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj 23 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj xref 0 25 0000000000 65535 f 0000000009 00000 n 0000000074 00000 n 0000000120 00000 n 0000000461 00000 n 0000000498 00000 n 0000000647 00000 n 0000000750 00000 n 0000002658 00000 n 0000002765 00000 n 0000002873 00000 n 0000002983 00000 n 0000003096 00000 n 0000003212 00000 n 0000003241 00000 n 0000003351 00000 n 0000008926 00000 n 0000010057 00000 n 0000010116 00000 n 0000010175 00000 n 0000010280 00000 n 0000011509 00000 n 0000011566 00000 n 0000011623 00000 n 0000017198 00000 n trailer << /Size 25 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R /ID[<9a66db693a8092e77b813c9f9a446d5b><9a66db693a8092e77b813c9f9a446d5b>] >> startxref 18329 %%EOF sharper focus "Empty boxes, full heart" | Caring Magazine

Vol. #28

Grace Uncovered

Read Issue

Latest Impact StoriesView All

Popular Topics

PopularView All

sharper focus “Empty boxes, full heart”

December 11, 2013
3 minute read
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
Listen to this article

By  Victoria Shiroma, Major

Whenever I’m asked to share my most memorable Christmas Day, it’s the year when all the wrapped boxes piled under the family Christmas tree were actually filled with gifts.

I was 12 years old when my family of six moved into a newly built house with four bedrooms. The house was small, but it sure beat a two-bedroom apartment. We were not financially rich, but my hardworking parents—who often earned minimum wages—scraped and saved up enough money, in addition to a G.I. loan, to purchase a roomier home. But even during the lean years, they made sure we were well-fed, clothed and sheltered.

All previous Christmases that come to mind produce images of the family wrapping empty shoe boxes with pretty wrapping paper and ribbons. They were placed sporadically under the tree to mix with the few packages that were actual presents. Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus (aka Dad and Mom) provided each family member with one practical present, often a pair of new shoes to replace the ones that had been worn since the last Christmas.

On that memorable Christmas day, we each received more than one present, including “wished for” gifts along with the usual practical items. That day was especially notable because I felt we were no longer poor. It was a wonderful feeling and a gift in itself.

I looked up the word “poor” in the thesaurus and found the words “insignificant and underprivileged.” That’s how I felt whenever I looked at the empty wrapped boxes. But listed along with these disheartening words were “meek and lowly,” and they reminded me of what Jesus said in Matthew 11:29 (KJV): Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

“Meek” is often defined from its original Greek word “praus” as strength under control, but it also describes a soothing medicine. I especially like the latter meaning because of the spiritual healing that Jesus offers everyone.

The year before that unforgettable Christmas Day, a neighborhood friend invited me to the local Salvation Army corps in Salinas, Calif., to participate in youth activities. Almost a year later, she “volunteered” me to help serve Thanksgiving meals to the homeless and to be a bell ringer for their Christmas kettle project (little did I know then how many more years I would be doing that as an officer!).

For the next few years, I continued to volunteer for the corps while still attending my regular church, which I considered a family obligation. Then one evening, the message of God’s greatest gift, Jesus Christ, was preached at a midweek corps meeting. At that moment, I realized that I had yet to truly accept the Gift—-the gift of forgiveness, the gift of blessed hope and joy. And so I did. As memorable as that Christmas Day was when I felt I was no longer socially poor (insignificant and underprivileged) because all the boxes were filled with gifts, even more memorable and important was the day I felt and knew I was no longer spiritually poor because Jesus gave significance to my life by offering me the privilege to accept him as my Lord and Savior.

Today, whenever I see empty, decorative boxes under a Christmas tree, it’s a beautiful reminder that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16 NIV), and that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly (John 10:10b NKJ).

There are those who may still be placing empty gift boxes under their Christmas trees, but know that Jesus Christ is the Gift who can fill the emptiness in our hearts.

Download this page as a PDF

You May Also Like