Staff Gifts
Holly McKissick – South Africa
She spreads her jewelry, exquisitely made, on the table before me.
I cannot picture the beads in their original state, in piles and clumps, before Ntombetle created this bounty of bracelets and necklaces. Nor do I see the end result of her efforts, displayed, carefully, on the kitchen table.
No, when I look at them, I see the church staff. I see the orange-pink strands around Val’s neck…maybe Nisha’s, too. The thin gold and black necklace on Eli, against her dark hair. I see blue for Cindy and Donna. The intricate design of brown and blue (Eden and I exchange a glance): Denise, definitely. For Deb… hmmm… when I think of Deb, I think of what Rev. Susan said: I like to buy people things that are useful and beautiful…woven baskets, braided bowls, beaded knives. Yes, for Deb, I see something that holds something…
Holly McKissick – South Africa
She spreads her jewelry, exquisitely made, on the table before me.
I cannot picture the beads in their original state, in piles and clumps, before Ntombetle created this bounty of bracelets and necklaces. Nor do I see the end result of her efforts, displayed, carefully, on the kitchen table.
No, when I look at them, I see the church staff. I see the orange-pink strands around Val’s neck…maybe Nisha’s, too. The thin gold and black necklace on Eli, against her dark hair. I see blue for Cindy and Donna. The intricate design of brown and blue (Eden and I exchange a glance): Denise, definitely. For Deb… hmmm… when I think of Deb, I think of what Rev. Susan said: I like to buy people things that are useful and beautiful…woven baskets, braided bowls, beaded knives. Yes, for Deb, I see something that holds something…
It’s not that I haven’t spent a bit of cash on gifts for my parents and my Texas friends. I’ve bought a few things for the church, too. Something absolutely lovely for the plaza! But, the staff: I want to buy them everything. Especially those who are there day in and day out. I guess it’s because I love them so deeply. And, because I know they are the people who “leverage” my life. As my friend and collaborator- in-all-things-ministerial, Cindy, says: “Figure out who are the 20 % of the people who make 80% of your life possible…then concentrate your attention on that 20%. That doesn’t mean ignore the rest, it means show some appreciation, give careful attention to those folks who leverage your life.”
In my life, that is, in large part, the staff. At times I wonder if I do a good enough job letting you all know: these folks are OVER THE TOP in every way. Every one of them. It’s not just the clergy who stand up on Sundays, it’s the folks who are molding, guiding, holding it together seven days a week— working “extra” in my absence.
We are blessed.
Doubly blessed. To see something of beauty, in a world of Iraq wars and swollen bellies, is a privilege. To imagine that which is beautiful around the neck of someone you love…to see, in your mind’s eye, the friend placing the bowl on a shelf…that is a gift for which there are no words.
Sweet One,
That you shower us with companions,
with an office of friends who sing and laugh one minute
and weep at injustice the next,
hear our thanks. Amen.
Holly
Holly McKissick has been appointed as a short-term volunteer to Inanda Girls’ Seminary in Durban, South Africa where she is involved in the life of the school community serving in a volunteer teaching capacity and visiting nearby churches on weekends.