Christmas Eve

It was shortly after seven and we had just returned from a Christmas Eve service with our family in Phoenix, Arizona. It was now time to put the meal together and eat way too much food. It was so good and we enjoyed the time together around the table, but our two grandkids were running out of patience, desiring to open Christmas gifts. Their tradition is to open gifts on Christmas Eve. When Connie and I were raising a family we opened ours on Christmas morning after breakfast.

The extra food was put away and everything cleaned up in preparation for the next event, one that I do not approve of and have made very clear to my family that I do not want to be a part of. The exchange of gifts today is so abused that it masks the true meaning of Christmas. Each Christmas becomes harder and harder for me as I watch the gifts being handed out and opened. It is an event that makes my heart ache.

The procedure here was to open one gift at a time, starting with the youngest. The gift wrapper was torn off and placed in a pile. The gift was looked at, but the box was not opened. It was placed in a growing pile of gifts. This continued until the pile under the tree became a pile away from the tree. One or two toys were open, but the rest never got opened until the day after Christmas.

I was handed a small package, but I gave it to my three year old grandson to open. I looked at it and gave it to Connie as it related more to her than me. After a while I received a second one and had my grandson open it and passed it to Connie. All I could think of was all the stuff that was being opened that wasn't needed and all the children in the world that would die because they lacked food, water and medicine. Why do we continue to feed our greed when so many need our help. My grandkids have more than they need, but the child we sponsor in India needs so much more. There are so many others like her that need our help and if we help them maybe they will learn the way of salvation.

I thought we were done, but there was one more gift and it was for me and I was forced to open it myself. I removed the paper and found inside four pictures as shown below.

That gift was different than all the rest and probably the one that has meant the most to me of any I have received in many years. The gift was unique as it caused me to feel loved by those who were responsible for it. It was a gift that affirmed my life. Not only did I run many road races, but I also tried to run the race God has marked out for me and to do it with perseverance. I trained well for the road races so I could finish well. I consider it important to train well spiritually so I can finish the race God has put me in. I try to stimulate others to invest their lives as God would have them. My daughter has followed after me in a number of ways. One of those ways is to run road races as I did.

The gift was a testimony from others about my life and from the photos my life seemed to have a focus on value. The gift they gave to me was not a simple gift from the world, but was a testimony of a life that was seeking spiritual value. To my family I say, "Thanks! You really nailed this one!"