Giving and Receiving

I loved Christmas growing up as a kid for one reason...PRESENTS!!! I loved combing through the pages of the Christmas catalogs and dreaming about the possibility of seeing some of those toys end up under the tree on Christmas morn.

As I grew older, I started to take as much joy and pleasure in planning out and hunting down the perfect gifts for those in my life that I'm closest to. I love finding those perfect gifts that will truly show people that I care and I want that gift to make their face light up.

I think about today. The picture of my daughter's face as she received an Easy-Bake Oven, the gift she had been dreaming about and talking about for months, was a beautiful thing. She beamed with joy and excitement.

I think about this time of year, the celebration of God sending the perfect gift to mankind, His one and only son, Jesus. A lot of planning went into the gift. It's the perfect gift that would bring us true joy. It's the gift that we truly need.

I think about my reaction as I'm confronted with this gift. Does it bring me great joy? Do I sense the need? Does it spark that "awe" factor in me? Do I beam? Sadly, the answer is not always.

This is a pretty disjointed rambling, but it all comes down to this: God I am truly thankful for your gift of Jesus. I know I don't always show it, but my desire is to be continually in awe of You and Your gift of love. I know that in a few months time the Easy-Bake Oven will be a forgotten memory sitting on my daughter's shelf that is only pulled out on occasion. May it never be with me and the gift You gave.