A GIFT FOR ALL SEASONS

I LOVE CHRISTmas shopping!! I am one of those nuts who looks forward to BLACK FRIDAY, as the day after Thanksgiving is now called. I don’t mind fighting the crowds, driving through traffic or even waiting in line, if it is not too long. I am shopping for those I love, and very little brings me more pleasure than that!! And, when I can get those gifts at a bargain, so much the better, because then I can stretch my CHRISTmas budget farther and get them more.

We think of CHRISTmas as the season of giving, and truly it is. Everyone is scurrying around, shopping for the perfect gift for that special someone on their list. Some people on our list are easier to shop for than others. For instance, I have NO problem shopping for my two granddaughters! I can see a million things I’d love to buy them. But my 94 year old mother-in-law is a different story. What do you buy someone who is 94 years old?!!!!!!!!!!!

We search for just the right gift, something that will be useful or something that will make the recipient jump for joy or will be cherished for a very long time. Aren’t there gifts that you’ve received in the past that you will just NEVER forget?! I think we all have those that will long remain one of our most remembered gifts…whether for CHRISTmas or a birthday or an anniversary.

I will never forget several CHRISTmases ago when our daughter’s boyfriend failed to give her a gift on CHRISTmas day. He told her that something had gone wrong with the gift he was giving her and she would have to wait a day or so. At first she was patient, then she began to become suspicious and little peeved. Finally, in an attempt to take her mind off of it, he took her to the riverfront to see the sunset. It was then that he gave her her gift…a proposal of marriage and an engagement ring! It was TOTALLY unexpected and quite a shock, but if you could have seen her face when she returned, it said it all! I’ve never seen more joy on one face in all my life than I did that night………..until this week. I saw that same unspeakable joy in the face of our son when his daughter was born. She was a gift of immeasurable worth.

2000 years ago, we received a gift of immeasurable worth, too. He came wrapped in swaddling clothes, born in a manger of a lowly peasant girl. He was the Son of God.

As we enter this CHRISTmas season, shopping and trimming the tree will be uppermost in our minds. But, let us not forget the ‘reason for the season’…the ultimate GIFT….JESUS CHRIST.