'Tis a Gift to Be Simple

So I've been trying to take some time over this past week to get some Christmas shopping done. Every year I attempt to sit down, figure out a budget, and brainstorm what would be the perfect Christmas gift for the family and friends that I love. And pretty much every year, I end up doing the same thing.

If I'm lucky, I'll think of one "ideal" gift to get someone and with everyone else, I suddenly draw a blank. It's as if all of my previous knowledge and friendship with the members of my shopping list is suddenly erased, and I cannot think of one item that they really need or want and I do what has to be the cardinal rule of "Things NOT to Do During the Christmas Season" . . . I go to the mall praying that somehow McKnight Road will become my road to Damascus, complete with a Heavenly voice enlightening me to all the answers of the mysteries of my Christmas shopping.

It hasn't happened yet.

Instead, I find myself wandering about the mall aimlessly, looking at items such as this Santa bulldog thinking, "Oh, that's cute. I bet my sister would LOVE that, and look! It's only $19.99. What a bargain!" What kind of sickness overtakes me, a fairly rational thinker who knows that my sister has no interest in bulldogs or battery operated toys for that matter, yet as soon as Black Friday hits, I lose all semblance of reality and decide that I just need to purchase something for my sister whether she wants it or not? And the great tragedy in it all is that I really love buying gifts for people. I love it when I can think of "that perfect something" that will really bless someone and delight their heart.

It made me really think of gift-giving as a whole. If you think about it on a completely rational level, gift-giving truly is an inefficient idea. Think about it. You're trying to figure out what someone else wants or needs without them telling you. How many times have we received a gift that while the person meant well, it wasn't really quite what we wanted? Wouldn't it be easier for people just to get what they want themselves or at the very most, to just give people money to do with it what they wanted?

And while I'm not knocking the gifts of cash or gift cards, I would contend that there is something very special about exchanging an actual material gift with someone else. There is an element of trust between the gift-giver and gift-receiver that is just as special as the gift itself. The gift-receiver must trust the gift-giver, trusting that the giver knows them and loves them and wants to give them a gift that would bless them. And the gift-giver must trust that the gift-receiver will graciously receive and enjoy their gift and use it in the way they intended. And honestly, when I look back on some of my most favorite gifts ever received, they have not necessarily been extravagant or expensive or even something that I asked for. Rather they were gifts that showed the heart of the giver, one that I loved more than any gift they could provide.

My very dear friend Jen got married yesterday. It was a wonderful celebration, but more than anything, it was a testimony to me of what an amazing Gift-Giver our Father is. When Jen started dating her new husband, I was struck with a sense of, "Huh?" He was a business-computer geek and she was a health-nut pilates instructor. Both would say that they had no intentions of seriously dating, nevertheless marrying the other, and yet God knew that this couple could so beautifully complement the other in a way that no one could see. He gave them the priceless gift of each other in a package that they weren't expecting, and they were open enough in their relationship with Him to receive it.

I desire to grow and trust my Gift-Giver more and more this season and beyond. Setting aside my "Christmas Lists" of expectations, time-tables, and demands and instead opening whatever gifts He places in front of me, trusting that He knows me better than I even know myself and that He has already proven to be the best Gift-Giver I could ever know. Why shouldn't I think that He'll continue the trend? Even more than that, I desire to be a trustworthy gift-giver to my Best Friend, blessing Him with praise and glory and my whole being. And while to me, it feels like I fall terribly short of that goal, giving God more of a barking bulldog than gold, frankincense, or myrrh, somehow, He chooses to receive it and proudly place it on His mantle as if it were the greatest gift He'd ever known. Almost makes you want to run out to the mall and go shopping, doesn't it?