Gifts

When I think about the Christmas season it is hard not to think about gifts. As much as I don't want to admit it I have spent most of my life focusing on material gifts more than the gifts that truly matter. Not that I was so concerned with what everyone was getting me but what I was getting everyone else. Either way the focus was in the wrong place. To me Christmas should not be about material things at all. It is about recognizing the true gifts that we are given, not taking advantage of them, and showing appreciation for them. Like, the gift of:

• Jesus
  
• Quiet time spent with the Lord
  
• My husband
  
• Spending family time together
  
• Looking into my children's faces everyday
  
• Having close extended family and watching cousins play together
  
• Prayer
  
• Having Grandma and Grandpa geographically close (a gift we don't have right now but someday...maybe!)
  
• Health
  
• Life
  
• Making a difference
  
• The Bible
  
• Public worship
  
  This is not an exhaustive list by any means. It is just meant to highlight a few of the most precious non-material gifts in my life. These are the things that are more important to me than anything material I could ever receive.