I've started this
post a million times and deleted it because I'm afraid of all the ways it could
be misinterpreted, but I just can't stop the words from running through my
head, so I think that accounts for something.
So please understand
my heart behind this post. It isn't to
judge, condemn or call anyone out, I'm simply offering another option. I'm not claiming to have it all figured out, I
just want to give you some things to think about.
As we head into
Christmas, I noticed that the really awesome chest pains I was having last year
at this time started to come back. I
know that they are anxiety related, and I thought that they were related to a
particularly stressful and emotionally taxing situation I was going through
last year, but that doesn't seem to be the case. They have returned with a vengeance and I have
been bound and determined to find the root of the anxiety that causes
them. The minute I walked into Target on
Monday they started. I started thinking
about Christmas, and all the gifts, and all the stuff and instantly, my heart
started to hurt.
When I pinpointed
it, I got angry. Angry that a beautiful
time of year has become so commercialized, that so much focus is on stuff. Then I got sick. I watched cart after cart go buy, filled to
the brim with stuff….stuff that people probably don't even really need.
I know that some
people love to give and receive gifts, I think that is great. I have received some great gifts in my
lifetime. I don't think that giving
gifts is in and of itself bad, but I think the need to give gifts that don't
have a lot of thought behind them just for the sake of giving gifts or getting
more stuff, is sickening. If you have to
ask other people what they are getting their kiddos for Christmas to get more
ideas for your kids, then you probably don't need to get them anything at
all. If you can't think of anything to
get someone else, then maybe a material gift isn't the answer.
Buying gifts gives
me horrible anxiety and I finally realized it this year. It isn't because I don't like to be generous,
I love to give things to people. It is
because with the time and money I have, I can rarely find a gift that would
ever convey how much the people I want to buy gifts for mean to me. I can spend hours looking for the perfect
thing and never find it, and I hate just picking any old thing because it feels
so disingenuous….and that makes me sad.
I started thinking
about all the gifts that kids will likely get this year and I started to think
about how detrimental this could be in the long run. Don't we spend so much of our life trying to
learn and understand that material things don't make us happy? Why then, do we lavish our kiddos with gifts
at Christmas time? Isn't the point of
Christmas to celebrate the birth of Jesus and how much he loved us by sharing
that love with each other? Then why
wouldn't we want to help our kids learn early that material things can't make
you happy and limit the gifts they are given and instead focus on giving?
When I think about
giving, I think about Luke 14:12-14
He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.
I'll be honest, I'm
far more compelled to give gifts to people I don't know than people I know
because I don't want to be repaid. I
don't know why that is, but it is. I
love knowing that my gift will make a difference because it is needed, not just
more stuff.
Since I read 7: AnExperimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker, my mind processes
everything so differently. I can't look
at "stuff" without thinking about how much it costs and how
inconsequential it is. So when I think
about Christmas gifts, that is where my head goes.
With Black Friday
and the biggest shopping season around the corner, I'd like you to consider
something. Are the gifts your buying
simply allowing you to check something off of your list? Is it something that is actually going to
make a difference in someone else's life?
Is it something that will end up in a landfill in a few years? I think if you stop and ask these questions, you'll likely find yourself wondering why you are buying it in the first place.
If that is the case, I'd like to
offer you an alternative, actually, multiple alternatives to the typical
Christmas gift; giving to people who are
in NEED in someone else's name as a gift to them.
There are SO MANY great organizations that allow you to do this, here are just a few of them:
World Vision Gift Catalog - This allows you to purchase a variety of things for people in need: animals, clean water, shelter, education, medical care, etc. Gifts range from $10 to +$150 and there are a variety of options, surely you can find something that special someone would be passionate about. For example, you can buy a rabbit for an impoverished family for $19, and the good thing about rabbits, they multiply quickly! There are SO MANY wonderful gifts you can purchase for people who's lives will be changed. We all know I'm pretty passionate about World Vision, so I think this is a great choice.
Compassion International - They also have a gift catalog with very similar options.
If not having something to give makes you uncomfortable, no worries! There are other options that allow you to give while still making a difference.
Trades of Hope - They sell beautiful jewelry, scarves and home goods handcrafted by women across the world. They empower women to create sustainable businesses worldwide so that they can rise out of poverty. If you are interested in this, please let me know, I have a couple of friends who can hook you up!
Noonday - Similar to Trades of Hope, they sell jewelry and accessories made by women across the world helping them run businesses and change their lives.
Looking for something in your community?
Angel Tree - A ministry of Prison Fellowship, they provide opportunities for you to purchase gifts for children who's parent is incarcerated. I love this opportunity because you get the kiddos name and they write down a gift idea.
Toys for Tots - Lead by the Marines, they collect unwrapped toys at a variety of locations to distribute to kiddos in the community.
I could go on and on. The point is that there are so many opportunities to change a life this Christmas rather than giving a gift that will likely be under appreciated. You have the power to change lives, why not do it?
So instead of heading out on Thanksgiving evening or early Black Friday, why not do things differently this year and spend some time with your family and spread Christ's love to those who could really use it.
“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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