Christmas Doesn't Come From A Store


I'm about to celebrate my 50th Christmas. 

That's right. I'm over 35 years old. 

I remember rotary phones, holding the automatic choke open on my carburetor in the Winter, recording songs on cassette off the radio, and the national anthem being played as the TV station went off for the night. 

Christmas is different for me now than it was years ago. Oh, I still enjoy the season, but the gift giving has less meaning to me every year. As I reflect over the years I have little memory of any of the gifts I've ever given or received. The only ones I'm able to recall are those attached to a memory.

When I'm asked these days what I want for Christmas I usually can't think of anything. I'm told this makes me difficult to shop for. My son tells me, "your own kids don't know what to give you." To which I reply, "I don't want anything." As I give it some thought though I realize that memories are what I really want. A relaxed conversation over a cup of coffee, a round of Monopoly, some homemade brownies while watching a Christmas movie, or an evening in the city to see the tree.

One of my favorite Christmas memories came a year after my wife and I were married. Sarai was pregnant with Nathaniel, and the pregnancy had left her on bed rest for months. I was a full time student, and working full time so my time at home was limited. Our finances were strapped. When Sarai handed me a Christmas present, I wondered what it was. She hadn't really been able to go anywhere, and these were "pre-Amazon" days. I unwrapped my gift to discover a cross-stitched framed picture of some dogs. She made me my gift. Not only have I never forgotten it, but I still have it.

There's definitely nothing wrong with giving or receiving gifts. In fact, Christmas is all about celebrating the greatest gift ever given. "For God so loved the world He gave." John 3:16. I would simply encourage you to give memories instead of just things. Your children will love receiving gifts, but don't fall victim to the trap of making Christmas about things instead of about people.

As for me, some might say that my lack of passion for boxes, ribbons, and bows is because I'm becoming a bit of a Scrooge. A Scrooge? I don't think so, but I have learned a lesson from a Grinch.

"What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."

Following the Son,

James A Williams

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