Spiritual resource to share: worship fully. spend less. give more. love all.
One Christmas, our two sons (1st and 4th grade) were very particular with their gift requests. One loved his science teacher and the special project on insects the class was doing. So he wanted his own maggots. The other son had taken apart most of our electrical appliances and, being in the first grade, was now old enough to know that he shouldn't do that. So he wanted his own broken toaster.
This was great! I could tell we were going to be redefining gift-giving for a long time to come. For me, gift-giving is all about what we love about one another. We celebrate the most fun, crazy, memorable, meaningful parts of our lives.
This Christmas, we are focussing on Christmas presence, instead of presents. We are traveling and making the effort to see other family members. We'll be giving out opportunities and experiences. The kids will be getting ski lift tickets, my brothers will be getting an evening with a classic movie we used to watch as kids, others will be contributing to travel funds. We are re-gifting, making cookies, donating to non-profits in one another's names, writing poems, doing favors, going skiing, sledding, sharing meals, and just being together.
Our gift-giving has its roots in the gift-giving of the Magi. They were present to celebrate Christ's birth, and we are here now, celebrating the Christ in one another.
There is a message flying around on facebook and other social media: "worship fully. spend less. give more. love all" thanks to a campaign called The Advent Conspiracy. It seeks to replace consumerism with compassion. It is one of those genius messages that get to the heart of Christmas.
In the busy hum of the holidays, it is a welcome reminder of the gifts we truly give one another.
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