Life Shiny Side Up

I'll admit one thing to you right this second.  It's not even Thanksgiving and I have stressed more about Christmas presents in the last few weeks than I have in the entire history of my existence.  I have this God-given people pleasing gift giving sort of thing in me that makes me think the gift to death.  I don't like to give just anything- I like to pick it out for them.  I like for it to mean something.  I like for it to reflect thought and effort and fantastic taste (what?).  And so then I think about it so hard that it's not even exciting anymore and all of the sudden I hate gift giving and everyone I am buying gifts for.  Or something less harsh.

I was sitting in church on Sunday fully engaged, as usual, by our pastor's speakin'.  We are so blessed to have him.  He does good, relevant preachin'.  And in his wise message, he put it better than I ever could.  It went something like...

Christmas, with the presents, is really kind of dumb.  You call your brother and you're like 'What do you want?' and he's like, 'A blue long sleeve shirt' and you're like 'cool' and he's like 'What do you want?' and you're like 'A black long sleeve shirt' and he's like 'cool' and so you both go out to the same store and you buy the other person the shirt he could afford to get for himself and he buys you the shirt you could get for yourself and basically we're buying things for people who have the money to buy it themselves but we do it just to wrap it up and give them a gift.

I think I'm off on a word or 2.  If you want the real deal, click here.

But oh how right he is.

May I be one million and eleventy hundred percent honest right now?

Sometimes I get caught up in it.  Like, I really seriously need those boots; like it is a need for my feet because in all seriousness if I do not have those boots for Christmas, I will be straight up nastyfeet because my feet will be bare because I own no other shoes and do not have one penny to get them myself and why would I spend my penny anyway because, oh look!  It's Christmas!  Someone else can get them for me.

For real, sometimes I think that way.  I convince myself that my wants really are needs.  My wants are never needs.  I cannot even come anywhere close to having any clue what it is to actually seriously need something.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, God, for that.


And in that minute of Gregg's speech about how ridiculous our petty gift giving is, I remembered what it is that I love so much about Christmas.  It's what I have loved since I can remember.  It's what makes Devin laugh at me as I tearfully pull his wallet from his pocket.  It's what gives me burning joy in the core of my soul, and it is what makes my heart burst with worship to God.  I. love. to. give...to those who know what it is like to seriously. seriously. need something.  To those who work to the ends of the earth to provide for their family.  And even to those who I just feel for.

I love to work for them.
I love to open my wallet for them.
I love to sit with them.
I love the needy,however God decides to define it for me on a given day, more than anyone else on the planet.

There is no gift- no clothes, no shoes (or boots), no trips, no thing that satisfies and quenches my heart more than helping someone else.

Last year I wrote blog posts about gift ideas.  This year, I want to introduce (or reintroduce) you to some of my favorite groups of people who depend on me and depend on you and depend on the people who will selflessly and faithfully give them a dollar so their needs can be met.  Needs like clean water.  Like safety.  Like shelter.  Like food.  Like education.  Like shoes for their little toddler feet.  Like Christmas gifts for their kids.  Like fixing a leaky roof.  Like a scoop of gravy on their mashed potatoes on Christmas Day.

Maybe a group will speak to your heart.  Maybe you will help.  Maybe you will be hooked.  Maybe God will speak to you through giving.  Maybe you will worship God through giving.  Maybe you will be changed.