The Christmas Gizzard – Hope for the Holidaze
The lowly gizzard is not thought of as great food. It’s tough and takes a long, long time to cook. Its distinct texture and flavor are not the favorite of many.
Gizzards are the most interesting part of bird anatomy. But why do they exist?
The gizzard is an internal way to chew. When birds eat seeds, they have no teeth to grind them, so they swallow them whole. Birds also swallow small pebbles or sand that are used by the gizzard to “chew” the seeds so they can be absorbed, giving nourishment.
As we approach this Christmas, there will be certain people, events, words, and situations that will be just like a seed: tough, with an impenetrable shell. You’ll wonder if they are worth the trouble. They will be “difficult to swallow.” They will get “stuck in your craw,” making it impossible to move forward in peace and harmony.
This is why you need the Christmas Gizzard. You need a special way to handle and digest these hard-shelled people.
When the Child of Christmas grew up, he met and forgave a woman who had a very long list of offenses (1). Instead of turning her away, he said:
Her many sins have been forgiven - Luke 7:47
He was willing to risk treating her with kindness, willing to forgive. And that broke her hard, outer shell.
That’s the Christmas Gizzard that can turn everything around.