The Gift and the Giver

My daughter was three years old and it was the first time we decided to celebrate Christmas at home. Since we had moved to Dallas several years ago from Kansas City, we always made the trip to KC to spend time with family.

Not this year. We decided to start our own family traditions and celebrate at home.

The tree was decorated, gifts were under the tree and my mom drove down from KC to spend the holidays with us. As we opened gifts there were the usual oohs and ahhs, and thank yous.  Until my sweet little three-year-old opened her gift.

Remember those dazzling kaleidoscopes? You look into them like a telescope and as you shift the device it changes colors and patterns. For whatever reason, my sweet little daughter was not impressed and she let her disappointment be known.

Well, you will have to know my mother to know how well that went over.

But both mother and daughter handled themselves well. We continued with Christmas and had a wonderful time.

Unbeknownest to me (is that a word? Well, I like it. Let’s make it a word. Ha!!!) my mother took back the gift. The following Christmas, guess what my four-year old daughter received from her g’ma? Yep, you guessed it…the same gift.

It occurred to my daughter and to me, that she would continue to get that same gift for Christmas until she learned to be thankful.

I can still remember that surprised look on her face as she held her gift. After a bit of a pause, she walked over to her g’ma, gave her big hug and said, “Thank you, Grammy!”

Christmas is a time of giving gifts and receiving.

Yes, there is much more to Christmas than gifts, but let’s not lose sight of God’s hidden wisdom in some of the simple pleasures of life. There is wisdom in giving and receiving.

What joy we experience as the giver when we know we have chosen the right gift. We can’t wait for our friends and loved ones to open their gifts. Maybe it is a comment we remember, or a collection we have seen on their shelves or an interest they’ve developed that we have observed. Our gift tells them, I not only see you…I see your heart!

As the receiver, how important it is to be grateful. For it is not only the gift that brings joy, it is the love of the giver.

There is joy in both giving and receiving.

And who is the greatest Giver of all? Who knows our needs better than we do? Look at the variety of gifts He gives to His children. They vary from person to person, do they not?

I was pondering the gifts of God the other day, when some friends and I were sharing answered prayer requests. On one hand, a dear friend was finding God’s power strong enough to carry her through the loss of her husband. On the other hand, one was rejoicing in a clear cancer report.

God answers prayer, but what He chooses to give varies.

“LORD, there have been times I have opened my “gifts” and I don’t like what I see. I look at others and like their gifts better!!”

But as I get to know the Giver, I see His love running deeper than I can imagine. He knows me and my needs, and I have come to trust Him.

Who else would give up His only Son and wrap the infinite in human flesh, and give Him to a lost and broken world, saying, “This is My beloved Son given to you! For whoever receives Him becomes My child. Yes, I have made the way for YOU to become a child of God and with and through my Beloved Son comes immeasurable blessings!!”

As we wrap up this Christmas season may our hearts be full of gratefulness, not only for the gifts, but for the givers who took time to send a card, a gift or a plate of cookies. Let’s teach our children to be thankful for the gifts they are given.

This helps our children to be good givers and receivers preparing them for adulthood, and more importantly, preparing their hearts for the greatest Giver of all!!

Hugs ‘n blessings.
bobbiekeith@gmail.com

P.S. Looking back on your childhood, what lessons impacted you the most in teaching you gratefulness? How do you teach your children to be grateful? Let me know and I will share a few ideas in the next Coffee Break.