We are only just a few days away from Christmas Day. Christmas Day is the where we celebrate the birth of the Christ. The savior of the world. As part of Christmas we are taught from a very young age that, “it is more blessed to give than receive”.
Through out the year we shop for ourselves, food, clothing, shelter, except for birthday, and anniversaries. During the Christmas season we get caught up in buying gift sets, iPhones, diamond necklaces, or various items for a loved ones.
All to often we feel there is this obligation to buy and give. For some people it is more than duty, it is an enslavement. Fighting crowds, buying, hoping the person we are buying for will not get the same thing from some one else.
The writer Mark Twain loved Christmas, but he hated the shopping. He would describe Christmas shopping as bringing, ” harassment and dread to many excellent people”. Mr Twain saw the result of all that Christmas shopping as, “weeks of hard and anxious work, and when Christmas morning comes they are so dissatisfied with the result, and so disappointed that they want to sit down and cry.”
To often I am so looking for a deal I forget about the person I am shopping for. I forget about the giving. I forget about the end result when shopping.
When shop for a Christmas gift and it is given, the receivers eyes should eyes light up. Surprise, delight, and gratefulness should be reward of a gift given.
Like anything done right and with quality it does take time and research. Sometimes the timing of the gift is just a important a the gift itself. A Christmas gift does not have to always be given on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning.
There was this teacher who was held in the highest respect from students, teachers, and even students who never had him as a teacher. He was known for how loved to water ski during Summer months.
One year during the fall semester, while he was at school teaching, his house was broken into. They took several items. One of those items was his prize set of water skis.
We read about the break in from local newspaper. He briefly mentioned it a couple of times in class. Some of his student overheard him talking to other teacher how broken hearted he was about getting his favorite set of water ski stolen. They were top of the line and expensive.
Several of the class members got together find out how much it would cost to replace the stolen water skis with the same brand, but a new model. Then they went back to the rest of class members with the request for the money. Surprisingly, the money was quickly raised.
The last day of class before Christmas break, the class walked into the classroom all at once and surround the teacher at his desk. From behind the two who organized it were carrying the skis. The teacher stood up in surprise. As tears were rolling down his cheeks he was handed the water skis.
Bottom-line: Not ever Christmas gift given will have the same result, as when we gave the water skis. When the opportunity presents itself, these are the kind of gifts that should be given.
