Christmas Present(s)

What did you get?

Maybe you received something you will never forget... like the shiny red Sting-ray bike under the tree waiting for me when I came home from the Christmas Eve program?

Just then, I think I was in second grade.  Of course, it's Wisconsin, so it was spring before I could ride, although I suspect there were a couple times riding around the basement.

I had learned to ride on an old, second-hand bike... but this was my first new one.  It's an exciting memory.  It's one of four bikes I've owned.  The Sting-ray, a three-speed, then a Schwinn Traveler 10 speed bike during my junior year of high school, and the Rans Rocket recumbent I bought in 2003.

Lasting quality with the bike as the Schwinn still goes on rides with me occasionally.

Yes, some gifts are memorable.  Some are not. Sweaters.  Socks,  Underwear!  Those will never make the great gift hall of fame.  This year, there were the last two novels in the series by Tom Clancy I have not yet read.  There is a gift card for some new clothes.  There is candy and treats and Badger history.  Another very good year.

There was a new camera under the tree a few years ago that's become part of a burgeoning hobby.  Most of the last several years there are more practical gifts - gift cards for clothes, Packer stuff (can't have too much of that), and calendars (Gary Larson's the Far Side were the best).

A memorable Christmas came 21 years ago, and one that came as surprise.

That fall I lost my job (rather, I was lost from the job), and while unemployment checks and food stamps helped buy groceries and keep a roof over our heads there wasn't much available for Christmas shopping.

It might have been Christmas Eve or a day before, when our Pastor drove up to make a delivery.  There were groceries for a Christmas dinner and presents for Matt and Mark, 5 and 2, even something for their parents.

At first it felt wrong to accept the generous gifts, then Pastor said it was a gift of grace - in a small way, like the gift of eternal grace we receive in the gift of Jesus.  He advised me to just accept and enjoy.

We did.  It was a wonderful Christmas thanks to the gifts of others and a reminder that none of us can make it on our own.  A lesson that it is good to be humble and accept the gifts of others.

It also motivated us to give back - to help others around us.

Perhaps you gave a memorable gift to someone this year?  Was there a gift you searched for or created or baked?

It is especially true the older we get that the meaning behind the gift means more than the gift itself.

Since it's Boxing Day - better known in the U.S. as reverse shopping day - you might be on the way back to the store to return the shirt that isn't "you."

I hope you received joy, hugs, and a heart filled with love this Christmas and gave some away as well.  Every size in deed fits all!