I love receiving gifts whether for Christmas, birthday or just the occasional “no reason” gift. Gifts, even those that come without a card, anonymously from a Secret Santa, always carry a message, loud and clear which is: “ I love you!”
As a child, I always received a Christmas present from a great aunt, my grandmother’s sister, who lived in New York. She was a bit strange, her house always smelled musty and so did her clothes. We went to New York at Christmas to visit my grandparents and always drove to Brooklyn to see Aunt Laura. Not something I ever enjoyed.
The cookies she served with hot tea tasted like they had been recycled from our Christmas visit the year before. No matter how much cream and sugar I dumped into my tea masked the stale taste of these cookies. I loved cookies and ordinarily would never refuse one, except at Aunt Laura’s!
She insisted we open our gifts in front of her. What do you say if you are six and you open a neatly wrapped Christmas present only to find an antique lace collar? During the unwrapping my mother was constantly giving me “the look” that said “don’t you dare throw a fit or say something ugly!” The worst part of this gift exchange was that after Christmas I had to write Aunt Laura a thank you note! You can imagine the struggle my mother had with me to accomplish that. If Aunt Laura was alive today, I would be able to write a true thank you, realizing that even though her gift was totally inappropriate, it came with her love.
Our Father, the Giver of all gifts is the best gift giver. He knows us, and he understands not just what we need, but what we enjoy. I pray this Christmas you will receive all the gifts your Father has for you, coming from His heart of love.