The holidays always seem like a mixed bag to me. At Bible Study this past week, we were asked to share some Christmas memories from our pasts. Other than my younger married years, predicting Christmas was impossible. At the home for girls where I lived as a youngster, Christmas was about carols and company. This was where I first learned about God coming to earth as a baby. It was a joyous time! Many a Christmas Eve found girls being picked up by family or friends to share in a small gathering. Mine was no different. My father came a few times to bring my sisters and me to wherever he lived at the time. I dreaded these times with him. All that was good and lovely seemed to get drowned in his drinking, with smoke from his cigarettes swirling around our heads. I usually went back to the girls' home with a headache and stomach-ache.
After Dad took us girls out of the home for good, he became a Jehovah's Witness, and eliminated Christmas completely from our home. One of his wives demanded that she be able to have a tree, so for a while, a Christmas tree was up all year long. He conceded, as long as the tree didn't signify Christmas on December 25.
I was able to celebrate some Christmas's with Gram and Grampy at their home, and those were the best times! Gram never drove a car, and Grampy wasn't a Christmas shopper, so imagine my surprise when I came out of my room on Christmas morning to find money all over the tree! Grampy said if I could name the president's, I could have the bills. I named them all the way up to Andrew Jackson! I just loved how Grampy teased me with a twinkle in his eye.
Later on, as I was a homeless teenager, I would take whatever was given me for my December birthday and either sell it to buy presents for Christmas, or I would simply re-gift the items. I poignantly remember a Cabbage Patch Kids doll sent to me by my sister, Robyn, from Japan. Robyn was stationed there for over a year. When I told someone at work what I got for my birthday, the bidding wars began for my doll. The Cabbage Patch craze was over the top that year, and hardly any could be found at the stores. This doll was still in the box, with Japanese writing and a Japanese birth certificate. I watched as the highest bidder clutched the doll and headed to her car for the holiday break.
As we all looked around our table at Bible Study this week, we were amazed at how many of us were struggling. A few months ago, we had decided to find a family to help for the holidays this year. Since that time, family after family has been faced with hardship. One couple is counting the days when they don't need to drive around in their car to get warm. The heating bill was just too high to pay. Another family is dealing with job loss. One single grandmother is searching for a way to raise her grandchild while burning the midnight oil at work. Hours at work have been cut back for another woman. We have a "senior saint" who is still waiting for senior housing. We all shared a laugh as one person piped up, "The joke was on us!", remembering the day when we were all prepared to share in buying gifts for a family less fortunate.
There was no bitterness in our laughter, and yet, we wondered what we could possibly give this year. I thought back to my time of re-gifting. Christmas is the time of year we want to give - but so often we get bogged down with the shopping, the stores, the empty bank account, and in our family, even the lack of food can get discouraging. What could I possible re-gift this year? It hit me like a ton of bricks!
Jesus was the gift. Yes, the Magi brought him presents, but He, Himself was the gift to the entire world. I have received that gift by faith in His sacrifice on the cross. I will walk streets of gold one day. I'm going to have a mansion in heaven and be in His presence for all eternity. This is the one thing I can re-gift, which will never lose it's value and will only cost me a few minutes of my time. Jesus is beautifully wrapped in the books of the Bible. He is on every single page, from Genesis to Revelation. If I could just give one Bible this year to one person, it would be the most valuable present I have ever re-gifted.
No matter what your budget or your plans this year - perhaps in your travels you might offer a smile, and encouraging word, a personal testimony, and then leave someone with God's Word with the miracle of Christ's birth highlighted for them. I plan to go through my New Testament and personally highlight each verse which points to the plan of salvation!
Dear Heavenly Father,
Please prepare a stranger's heart to receive Your gift through me. I have no plan - no one in mind - just a desire to share you. While it may be easier to lay Your Word down in some public place and hope it reaches someone, please give me courage to carry this gift with me until You show me who to personally give it to. Thank you for Christmas, and for wanting me to re-gift the present you so freely gave to me!
In Jesus Name...
