What the gift says about the giver

                        Delores E. Topliff

As we prepare for Christmas, you, like me, probably choose gifts hoping to bring maximum delight to the faces of those you are shopping for--whether its kids, grandkids, friends, neighbors, students, co-workers, or shut-ins. And we’re careful to give what we believe our recipients will enjoy most whether it’s movie tickets, a restaurant meal, or a Starbucks card. Choosing the right gift shows how well we know the person.

This season the Lord turned my thoughts to His joy in preparing gifts just right for us, especially His Most Amazing Gift. He pictures our delight as we discover the priceless, everlasting, fulfilling, limitless riches tucked inside the ongoing gift of His Son. That thought enriches how I see Him and gives new glimpses of Him eagerly waiting for us to untie the strings and unwrap the package to get full benefit of everything packed inside.

Parents, grandparents, and friends often make even the outside of the package special with individually-chosen tissue papers or glittery fun cut-outs to tuck inside. God does that for us, too. He handcrafts sunrises or sunsets using our favorite colors. Has a bird land on a branch to warble an uplifting song just when we need it. He provides the funds we need OR leads us to amazing sales that stretch the money we have.

When I was 13, my Sunday School teacher married her pastor sweetheart before they went to Kenya as missionaries. Since my bank account was zero, for a goodbye gift I created an African cookbook with recipes for roasted elephant leg with instructions for how to saw off the leg, roasted termite cakes, ostrich egg omelets, etc. She called it priceless and laughed until she cried, saying its humor would keep her from getting homesick. Her laughter was the thanks I needed.

Consider the best gift-giver of all, all-knowing, all-powerful God, and His joy this season and always as He chooses gifts exactly right for each one of us.

Describe a personalized gift God has given you that means a lot.

What unique gift have you really enjoyed preparing for someone else? 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!