Please don't tell Krista, but I haven't finished my Christmas shopping yet. I'm close, but there's always that last idea ....
There have been many "favorite" gifts over the years. I remember a particular GI Joe jeep I got as a kid, complete with search light and 106 mm tripod mounted recoiless rifle with four rounds of ammo. Pretty darn cool.
My kids get frustrated with me because I can't ever think of suggestions for gifts. It's not that I don't care -- I mean, who doesn't like receiving gifts? -- but I'm not one to keep a running list of ideas. My brain's not big enough for that, i guess.
Yesterday I received a gift that was particularly meaningful -- a pillow commemorating a worship service we led last year at Cherry Hill Church in Davie County. Every time I look at the pillow, I'll venture back to that very special, candlelit night in that tiny little historic church. It's a gift that keeps on giving.
If I had to choose a favorite, I'd probably say that the best gift of all was the simplest of all -- a letter Krista wrote to me last year. It's not a gift one displays or calls attention to. It's not a gift I'll wear or consume. But every time I read it, I'll connect with years of memories, joys, challenges, and blessings. It's a gift that bears within it the sacrifice of love and endurance, that reminds me of a relationship that, in and of itself, is the best gift of all.
I doubt God spent days and nights wondering what to give us that first Christmas. He simply gave from his heart: the gift of himself that bears within it the sacrifice of love and endurance, a gift loaded down with hope and promise and joy. It's the greatest gift of all.
May you feel blessed by that very same gift this Christmas.
And if you see me out shopping for that one last present, be sure to say hi. :)
