Tis’ the season to be jolly….or so the song says. I was thinking of how the season of
Christmas just somehow always FEELS different to me. There’s something about the lights of a Christmas tree. There’s something about the women at
church mostly dressing in their red attire. There’s something about singing “Joy to the World”, the Lord
IS come. Different somehow.
And yes, in many of our worlds, Christmas means gifts. My trusted online dictionary defines
“gift” as something
voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation. In other words, something given to
someone with the giver expecting nothing in return. Something FREE.
Now granted, I love getting gifts as much as the next person. In remembering my childhood days and
seeing the few photos we have of our Christmases, I recall a King of the Hill game under the tree for me as
well as a typewriter and even as I got more in the wanting-to-look-good age, a
beautiful pastel plaid skirt and sweater.
Wow, I really did look good in that. As I have aged, the gifts have
been different and many more than I have ever deserved. I enjoy putting up my tree every year
and decorating it with the countless ornaments given to me by friends, family
and children in the church. Odd
that I can’t often remember what I did last week but I can recall who gave me
every ornament. That means the
gifts come from the heart and stay there.
There have been gifts given to me by The Husband and The Girl that have
been dear to me, often costing little, like the macaroni Christmas tree painted
green with glitter that sits on my shelf as a Christmas decoration every
year. And that really pretty
necklace The Husband got me as a surprise one year. Okay maybe that was a little pricier than "little".
This year, though, I have been pondering gifts. It seems that my gift buying efforts
have changed with fewer names officially on my list. The gift of sharing has taken over my Lunch Bunch as we a
few years back decided to stop the individual gifts and adopt a family to
help. This year we are helping a
young teacher in rural Mississippi who needs classroom supplies for her class.
I’ve decided that as I age, I long for those intangible gifts—those
gifts that you cannot see or touch or that don’t come in gaily wrapped packages. Sure, I long for a regular nap after
lunch some days for that bit of extra umph I need to make it through the rest
of the day. What a gift that would
be! I long to be able to stay
awake when I sit on the couch to watch tv with The Husband at night. I need
luck on that one. I long for
peace, a better economy, a God-fearing country, salvation for those who
don’t know what it means to know my Lord and Savior, happiness for those who
are sad, and so much more. You get
the idea.
As I contemplate my other gifts that I receive daily, I am blessed by
a gracious God who bestows grace to me when I certainly don’t deserve it. Isn’t that what grace is? Mercy is another gift. Thank goodness I am granted mercy. Health, happiness, and a loving family
and church family are other blessed gifts that I receive.
Most of all, we are reminded of the most precious gift of this season
and every day in the scriptures but especially in John 3:16….”For God so loved
the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
My favorite verse of the Christmas carol “O Little Town of Bethlehem”
is the third verse. It goes like
this:
How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him still,
The dear Christ enters in.
Once the “dear Christ enters in” that soul and one receives the wondrous gift
of salvation, life is forever changed.
“Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift.” 2 Corinthians 9:15
Merry Christmas to all!