A New Kind of Giving

For most of my life Christmas was about making a wish list and hoping to get everything on it. Selfish, I know. As I've gotten older (and hopefully more mature Ha!) I began feeling like Christmas giving should mean something more than just giving and receiving "stuff". So, over the past few years I've made at least one gift for each family member, or tried to find the perfect gift that they never knew they always wanted. It's almost like a treasure hunt! To me gifts should say to the receiver, "I found/made this, and specifically had you in mind. I love you." For me, giving back during the Christmas season is putting into physical form how I feel about those I love the most. It's not about spending outrageous amounts of money or buying piles of presents. It's about the moment when they open the gift and the look on their face tells me they realize I have been paying attention. It's that moment of "I am loved." I know good and well that presents do not equal love, but think about how you feel when God blesses you with something above and beyond your basic needs and you have been desiring it for a long time. Don't you feel loved and think, "He did hear my secret whispered prayers!"? Me too, friend, me too. Giving presents is my way of expressing not only my love, but also God's love for the people in my life. Giving back can mean a multitude of things, and my meaning of it should not diminish the fact that there are people in our communities that need our help this Christmas season. There are many options to get involved, and here are some practical ways to get help out in your community and beyond:

• Serve food at your local homeless shelter...they need help not only on Christmas day, but all year long.
• Give gifts to your local toy drive.
• Donate food to a food pantry.
• Drop a box off for Operation Christmas Child (a personal favorite of mine!)
• Adopt a local family and provide Christmas dinner and/or gifts for their kids
• Donate money to your favorite charity or ministry by decreasing the amount you spend on gifts this season. You can even make a card for your friends and family that tells them a donation has been made in their honor!

I hope this Christmas season you do not become so consumed with stuff that you forget the people for who you are buying the gifts.

-A