JUST THE RIGHT GIFT

Isn't it wonderful to get a gift that you really, REALLY like?  It brings pleasure because it's "you" and the giver has figured out who "you" are.  Sometimes the price tag on the gift says the giver spared no expense and that makes you feel valued.  Too bad the good gifts don't come on EVERY give-away day.  Ever gotten a clunker gift that required work to just gin up enthusiasm?  Or how about the dreaded "regift" that you can spot from a mile off?  

The older Mike and I get, the harder it is to give us things.  What do we NEED?  But we do feel pure joy in giving...

The month before Christmas, we found out some things that the little girls in NYC wanted.  Laura said we could buy them and mail them...or just send dollars and she would get the gifts and wrap them.  How long do you think it took us to figure out that sweet deal?  We heart Laura.  Then the technology fairy, Skype, allowed us to be in our bedroom and watch them open the gifts.  Next best thing to being there...

Caroline went first.  She pulled a frothy pink tutu out of a box and you couldn't have given her anything that would have pleased her more.  She twirled and squealed over it.  Then her mother said that the tutu meant Papa and Mimi were giving her ballet lessons.  Her little face lit up with astonishment that there was MORE!  She would have been fine with just the tutu...or even perhaps the box.  Caroline was aptly named when her parents pick "Joy" for her middle name. 

Then it was Hanna's turn and her gift ROLLED in...a 16" pink bike with a particularly appealing saddlebag on the front.  You could tell she was pleased, but concerned.  Hanna is a linear thinker and she was "counting the cost" of the absence of training wheels.  However, she immediately began dropping some of her things into the saddlebag.  Zip, zip.  Girls like to have their necessities close at hand.  Thanks, Brad, for assembling the gift and not charging us the assembly fee that WalMart charges.

Then the Saferites arrived for lunch.  As we ate, we talked about what Nate's gifts under the tree might be.  He had the DVDs pegged (size/weight).  This year was a Star Wars Christmas and Nate got the first two movies in that series.  We had gone into the attic and found some of Brad's old Star Wars figures and the Millennium Falcon...washed them...and put them under the tree.  Nate also got an inflatable globe with an LED  light that hangs from the ceiling as a nightlight.  And he got a book about the human body.  That's when the tissue toss came to a screeching halt.

Nate loves books and in the midst of more flashy gifts, he locked onto the book that had lots of flaps to open.  His interest in books melted the hearts of the onlooking teachers.  Check out this picture of Nate studying the page called "Eating and Excreting".  It totally hooked his attention.  We had to smile because Hanna has the same book and we wondered what her reaction was.  Little girls may not be as fascinated with their systems as little boys are.

Today we are not in stores returning, so we're declaring 2010 a gifting success.  No duplicates or rejects. Mike and I are enjoying a crate of nuts from NYC, and a book written by a friend of a friend of the Cruses.  The Saferites gave Mike an audio tutorial from a creationist about the Grand Canyon.  Perfect for our expected tour of the canyon next spring.  And I got Christmas toys...a spunky angel with knobby knees and a vintage little silver Christmas tree (made like the old aluminum ones from the 60's).  

Mike and I took a vow not to get one another any gifts, but we decided to buy costumes for our church Christmas program.  I had a total ball outfitting shepherds, wise men, and the holy family.  I guess Mike got the tab and the pleasure of watching the wise men glitter.

Which brings us to THE gift of Christmas, Jesus.  The Book says that even though we are evil, we still know how to give good gifts to our children.  Then the Book challenges us to think how much more our heavenly Father knows what to give...and does give to those who ask.  Great point.  I'm made in His image, so I get the general idea.  But the Maker of each heart knows infinitely more about giving just the right thing according to need.  I think I need to have a heart more like the heart of a child...

...like Caroline.  I want to delight over my Gift (Jesus) as Caroline delighted over her gift.  There is that giddy joy when Christ lifts the weight of sin and the peace with God begins.  Then just as Caroline got MORE, our MORE comes when we see His face and step into eternity.

...like Hanna.  She wisely "counted the cost" of no training wheels.  When I count the cost of my daily offenses to God, I KNOW I'm needing what Jesus is offering.  His amazing offer comes without a fee and we can "pack our bags" for heaven by receiving Him.

...like Nate.  In the midst of all the cacophony, A.D.D. delight, and eye candy of my world, I want to be able to fix my eyes on the Good Book and it's Author.

You know, back in November I cleaned out my closet (for the umpteenth time) and wanted to kick myself!  There, under a pile of stuff, was a stash I'd tucked away...a sack with two CUTE Christmas shirts I'd bought for the little girls at last year's sales.  The now-outgrown shirts were bought for them and put aside for them.  But Hanna and Caroline never knew it.  The girls never knew the joy of receiving them.  That's like our new little baby Lily.  Here Caroline is urging her sister to open a gift.  Lily is lovin' the hoopla, but has no clue what makes this morning so different!

 

Well, Lily...we're giving gifts because we want to be like Jesus.  He gave a gift that spared no expense, was tailor-made for each heart, imparts value to the recipient, and brings great joy.  What could do all that?  

Jesus is offering us His presence.  And a way to reconnect with the Father.  And a power source for pleasing God.  Who could turn down that Gift?