BLESSINGS AT CHRISTMAS

Christmas giving and receiving reflected a new light in the life of Susan Lendvay, now Editor of Venture Inward, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. With her father and grandmother they had become penniless refugees in Vienna. As a child of five she had often wondered what became of the money that was placed in the offering basket at church. Her father had told her "It goes to God." But how did God get it was the unexplained answer.

Later they escaped from the Communist regime in their native Hungary. At Christmas time she became the recipient of a treasured package of children's books. But who had sent this gift? Later she learned that strangers from other countries had sent them. But why? When she was sent to a children's home in the Alps, and again was the recipient of a gift box containing letters written in a foreign language she was told that some kind people she did not know were sponsoring her care from faraway Holland. Although not understanding that it took money to house, feed and clothe all the children there, a sense of comfort and wonderment was felt. "Somebody cared about us and didn't ask anything in return except to know we were OK. This made a deep impression on me as a child," she wrote.

As an adult now living in Virginia Beach, she finally found out how God gets the money intended for Him and what He does with it. "Since all things come from God and all things belong to Him, the earth and the fullness thereof, it is up to us to share and pass on these gifts. With gratitude to use for our needs and share with others in need, a 'substance,' a physical manifestation of unseen forces, to be used in the world."

Through her writing, Susan Lendvay brings hope to the world, "making manifest God's love - we are our brother's keepers, our souls live forever, there is a loving God, available to each individual for personal guidance and help." Our care and concern for Mother Earth herself shows our appreciation. There are many ways of reducing the pollution of air, land and water that may seem small but gathered together each one brings new hope and life to us all.