I remember one particular Christmas when at the tender age of 12, my aging grandmother presented me a gift. I quickly tore open the pretty paper and tossed the curled ribbon only to discover that she gave me an egg-shaped package of queen-sized control top pantyhose. My family giggled and I felt embarrassed as I gazed upon what laid in my lap.
Why did she give me this? Did she give me the gift to make me happy, to fulfill an obligation, or because she really thought this 12 year old girl, weighing in at a whopping 100 pounds, needed queen-sized control top pantyhose? I will never know.
Over the years I have received many undesirable gifts and have learned to politely smile and accept things graciously. I am sure others have done the same with my gift-giving attempts. Gifts have more impact when they are “just the right thing” received at “just the right time.” We all yearn for that perfect gift to fill our hearts with the love.
Thankfully we do not have to wait for a holiday to receive the perfect gift. We have it in our Lord Jesus Christ. How do we receive the gifts He gives us every day? The sacraments are just waiting for us. They are perfect gifts from God and are often left either on the shelf, re-gifted, or returned.
I can only imagine how sad our Lord is seeing us not accept His gifts after making the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. This year as we celebrate with our families, I ask you all to take time to reflect on the gifts we have that just aren’t used. Revisit them and put them to good use.
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
John 4:10
