This is quite possibly the longest post ever.
I went to Walmart late Saturday night to pick up some ingredients and things for Reese's birthday party on Monday. I couldn't find several of the items I was looking for (molasses) and ended up wandering up and down several aisles over and over again in my feeble attempt to locate them.
I crossed paths with the same old man numerous times, and at one point (where is the freaking molasses?!) I let out a frustrated sigh.
"I know how you feel." said the man.
He looked old. (like the blue sweatpants 24/7 kind of old...not just because I was at walmart and that is the unofficial uniform of the general public)
and really really tired. (it was 9:30)
I turned to look at him and he said, "I hate Christmas. I hate Christmas shopping. I can't wait until it is over."
Um...sorry, am I in a Hallmark movie? Are you Mr. Kruger?
"Oh, no... I LOVE Christmas" I replied cheerfully, "it's just late and I still have a lot of shopping to do, and I can't find anything on my list, tonight"
"Mr. Krueger" then said, "well, my wife died over a year ago, and I don't have and close relatives, so I don't have anyone to shop for this year, but me."
I started to feel really sorry for sad "Mr. Krueger"...and then he gestured to his cart, that had a FRIGGIN' HUGE LCD television in it!
"Wow! Nice tv! Merry Christmas to you!" I said
Mr. Krueger patted the box with pride and said, "My one and only Christmas present." and headed back down the aisle to continue his shopping.
I said nothing, but I wish I had.
Was it REALLY his ONE AND ONLY Christmas present?
To HIMSELF?! How is that a Christmas gift at all?
This really got me thinking...
Have all of our Christmas shopping lists become so long and so outrageous that we simply forget to give to those who aren't family, close friends, or coworkers?
What about giving to people we DON'T know?
Does the spirit of Christmas only apply to family, and when we are old and family runs out, we get to shop for ourselves?
We give gifts at Christmas not just because the wise men brought gifts to the Christ child, but because Christ's life is a gift to us. We celebrate Him at this time of year, and after all that He has done for us, we want to give back to him. He said,
"For I was an hungred and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying,
Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." (Matthew 25:35-40 KJV)
And so, I'm trying to teach my girls that the real gifts of Christmas are not just the wrapped presents under the tree, but the gifts we choose to give back to the Savior through service to others.
I love the magic of Santa and elves and all things Christmas and I think the big man in red bears the message of selfless giving and goodwill to men, so we totally do the Santa thing in our house.
But I want my children to know their Savior.
I want them to know WHY we have all the lights, and trees, and music, and sweets for the neighbors.
I can't stand the thought of one of my children growing up to be like the lonely man I exchanged conversation with in a Walmart, who could only think to purchase a tv for himself to make Christmas seem right.
Looking at that fat tv made me realize that there will ALWAYS be an excuse not to be charitable. From, "my list is already too long", to "I'm lonely or broke and hoping someone will give to me" or "finally, I can get what I want", and more often, "I literally have nothing of value to give" No matter what your situation is, isn't it ALWAYS the right time and the right season to give something of yourself to someone else?
Because presents or no presents, selfish gifts to yourself are not what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.
I'm not trying to sound perfect, or even good at doing this myself. I'm only writing my experience and the lesson I am trying to learn and teach to my daughters through starting traditions of our own. So what I really want to know from all of you is,
what did your parents do to teach you the true meaning of Chistmas?
and What has helped you teach it to your kids?
Goodbye Butterflies
12 years ago
5 comments:
This post was beautiful. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Our Christmas has never been Santa-centered (for I inadvertantly "slayed" him, great mother that I am). We have a birthday cake for Jesus, read the story of Jesus' birth in Luke aloud, and say what we're grateful for this past year. This year is a bit more difficult because our five year-old is suddenly interested in getting. We keep reminding her it is about giving and Jesus' birth. Hopefully it will stick.
oh how i love jimmy stewart! this is such a beautiful post. i wonder about this all the time. i'm actually scared about how i'll teachh my children, but i feel like my parents did a great job on me and my siblings. we kept it SO simple. by that i mean we rarely got more than one present from santa. instead we focused on giving to other families who were in need.
I love this post! Here's a long list of things that made a difference as I was growing up:
In our house Santa only left the contents of the stockings (at least in the later years) and never got credit for presents from siblings and parents.
We always dressed up and acted out the nativity story on Christmas Eve.
We ALWAYS made up some plates of treats, or jars of wassil or spiced potpourri braids or SOMETHING for our friends and neighbors.
We inquired about a family who was in need of help during the holidays and gave something because my parents taught us that someone always needed something more than we did. We still got plenty...we were just reminded that we could sacrifice a little, as the Savior had for us.
We 'adopted' two single elderly people in our ward and included them in our family nights, etc. so they wouldn't be alone.
One year (I was in college) my little brothers realized a neighbor boy whose single mother would be working on Christmas, and was basically not going to have a Christmas. With each other's permission they each gave him one of the gifts they'd picked out for another brother and invited him to spend Christmas with us. I think that truly was an eye opener to see the joy of giving to someone who otherwise would not have received.
We have so much. I think feeling that tingling down your spine and goosebumps on your arms when you know you made a difference in someone else's life, whether through giving a physical gift or a service, is truly the best gift we can receive. Thanks for the reminder to make this a higher priority than my 'wish list.'
I love this post. I know that you "get it" you know about your Savior and your children will learn from you.
Thank you for sharing.
I have learned alot from the ward that we are in (very very very old people) and all that matters to them at Christmas is being with the ones they love. We made cookies today, and there are a few older widows that are special to me so the kids' and I are going to go visit them tomorrow. I want my kids to actually feel how special these ladies are, and the spirit that is in their home.
The last few days we have been going through our old toys and picking out the things that we don't play with anymore so we can donate them. Jonah gets it, and has been so excited saying "I think a little boy will really like this car."
Merry Christmas to your cute family!
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