Well this Christmas morning was no different. I usually learn a lesson or two around Christmas
time. Let me share what I learned with
you.
Christmas morning at our house is a time when Keva and I are
alone now. Once there were kids and
Granny and sneaking presents under the tree or in their special place where
they sit and watching the sparkle in their eyes when they open their treasures.
But now it’s just Keva and I. Oh, don’t
start feeling sorry for us! We are the
happiest when it’s just her and me. We are weird that way. If you know us at all you already know that’s
a true statement.
Actually we are not totally alone. This year there is Gracie, my faithful,
loving dog who just wondered up to the back door of our house a few years ago
and we sort of “fell in love”. And there
is Sissy the old gray cat who has been with us for years.
Well you know Keva can’t let a Christmas go by without
getting presents for the “critters”. So
this year she got Gracie a nice chewy toy so we can play “tug-o-war”.
“She will just love this toy.”, Keva said.
Sissy got some toy rats with catnip inside. “Surely she will like these. All cats like this kind of stuff."
Well, you probably have already guessed what happened, but I’ll
tell you anyway.
As we sat in the living room and opened our presents to each
other, Keva got Gracie’s gift and gave it to her. She totally ignored it. And Sissy, well she would have nothing to do
with the little toy rats. She simply
sniffed and in her “better than thou” attitude walked away.
But you know what they did?
Sissy just walked over to me and started rubbing her head on my
hand. And Gracie jumped up in my lap and
wanted to be petted. Here comes the
lesson. Our pets, and our children and
our loved ones don’t want the gifts we buy them. Those things are nice but not what they want
for Christmas. They simply want to be
loved by us.
A toy rat with catnip is nothing compared with a good
scratch behind the ear. A store-bought “tug-o-war”
toy is just trash compared to being able to sit in your buddy’s lap. Computers, Play stations, new cloths, gadgets are nothing compared to simply sitting down with you loved ones and sensing their true love for you. When they give their time and attention to just you.
Oh, if I could learn this lesson. Oh, if I could forget about spending so much
money and buying all the newest contraptions and just put my arms around the people
I love and look them in the eye and listen when they talk to me. If I could just give “me”.
The Father knew this.
He demonstrated this to us in order to teach us how to give. You know the verse. You have it memorized I’m sure. “For God so loved the world that He gave His
only Son”. And if you believe in the
Trinity you know that the Father and Son and Holy Spirit are one. When He gave Jesus He gave Himself.
I hope Gracie and Sissy taught me a lesson this
year. I hope that all year long I will
remember to give you the Christmas gift of “me”. I know that sounds frightening but I hope you get my
meaning. I hope I will look at you when
you are talking. I hope I will pay
attention to what you are saying. I hope
I will love you enough to give you what you want.
Merry Christmas.
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