All I Want For Christmas

When I was little, my mom started playing Christmas music on the Hi-fi (not to be confused with Wi-fi) in October.  One of the songs on her long-play album was called “All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth”.  Sounds pretty basic, doesn’t it?  As someone who has a bridge (thanks to my dentist), I can relate.  It’s amazing the things we take for granted.  The use of all of our six senses, for instance.

It seems that every year we struggle with what to buy – usually for people who don’t need anything.  So, what about those truly in need?  They’re all around us.

A   friend gave me a gift not too long ago.  It came out of the blue and as I opened it, I was brought to tears, thinking of how undeserving I was of such a lavish present.  My first inclination was to refuse to accept it since it was so over-the-top.    Then, I was admonished by my own words in a post called “The Art of Graciously Receiving”.  Accepting a gift graciously is a gift in itself.  Otherwise, we deprive the giver of the opportunity.  As I considered this gift of abundance from my dear friend, I thought of the greatest gift of all.  God sent His Son as a helpless infant.  That infant grew up and gave His life – even for those who scorned and rejected Him.

As we commemorate this ultimate gift, perhaps we can get out of our panic at what to buy and instead offer ourselves:  our time, our resources, our compassion, to those truly in need.  Not what I WANT, but what someone else NEEDS.  Jesus was our example when He prayed, “Not My will, but Thine be done.”  (Luke 22:42).

Truth be told:  I don’t want or need anything.  I already have “more than I could ask or imagine”  (Ephesians 3:20).   How about you?

“Thanks be to God for His incredible gift!”  (2 Corinthians 9:15)