Well, the Christmas season of 2011 is passing us by. I am still a fairly new parent. And I invested a lot of time and concern this year thinking about how to teach my kids that Christmas is about giving, more than it is about receiving. I used to blame the commercialism of the world. But as I look at our lives, I see a lot of time and effort focused on what a kid will receive and very little spent on what that child will give. Not just on their end, on my end as well. And so I have some interesting ideas to try next year. But on Christmas day itself, I had a strange revelation.
If a day is about giving, then it must equally be about receiving. It cannot merely be one or the other. A gift by definition must be both given and received. Now maybe I assumed that my children, gifted as they are, would be perfectly capable of receiving presents. But what if I spent more time on the concept of gratitude? Not merely after the presents have been distributed, but before? Maybe year round even? And honestly, the more I thought about the idea that Christmas is about giving, the more I started to realize that the first Christmas was a huge gift. Or which I am the RECEIVER.
So maybe I need to focus more on receiving Christmas. And if I truly receive, I think it just might turn me into a giver as well. Maybe I should help my kids love their gifts, to play fervently with them, and then they might want others to have that joy themselves. Maybe I should stop and realize just how much I have received. I have always gotten more joy from giving. But I am learning to enjoy receiving as well. From others and from God. I cannot give Christmas to Him; I must receive it.
Thoughts?
Todd
P.S. We’ll soon be talking more about this idea of receiving from God as the album release draws closer. It’s coming soon… March.
P.P.S. If you missed it, both Do You See What I See (the Christmas CD) and NEED (the latest CD) are both on sale for $5 at Amazon. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Learning to give and receive is one way to experience the dance of God’s kingdom. It’s the way love flows. God gives His best to us, and we offer the only gift we have to give Him–ourselves. He gives us mercy and grace, and out of our gratitude we “regift” that to others which ultimately becomes a gift back to Him.
Teaching your children to give and receive (gifts, love, etc.) with thankful hearts is one of the best gifts you can give them, along with loving their Mom well. Sometimes giving seems easier than receiving, but receiving well teaches us to humble ourselves and recognize our own need. It allows others the privilege of joining in the dance of our lives, and gives them joy as well.
I like your idea of teaching your kids to enjoy their gifts “fervently” so they will treasure good things and want good things for others. That concept will definitely teach them empathy and compassion, and move them to action by giving.
How wonderful it is that God shows us how to parent our children by being the perfect parent to us–loving, being longsuffering and kind, sacrificing, teaching, disciplining . . . and so many other attributes.
The saying goes “It is better to give than receive” and (maybe because “welfare” and “hand-outs” are negative concepts in our culture)we take it to heart to the extent that we ignore the humility and gratitude it takes to receive something – and if we fail in that receipt, we rob the giver of their joy in giving, and we rob ourselves of the joy in receiving. I think you are on the right track and your kiddos will be blessed by this insight 🙂
I have been thinking about giving and receiving this past Christmas, and lately, also.
One of my “love languages” to others, I have realized, is to give. When I want my family members who live far away to know I am thinking of them, and that I love them, I send them gifts… I also tend to give my friends gifts as an expression of love. I have never been the best at receiving. I rememer different times growing up when I received gifts… a paino music box, a radio, and a huge box of books, etc… when I felt that the gifts were too much for me… I had hid them all at first, because each of them I thought were probably not for me. (At Christmas our house usually got crazy with all of the gift giving/wrapping, and sometimes we would be told “oh, that’s not for you that’s for your sister.” Or “oops! That is for your brother!”) Each time when I found out it was for me I would sit mystified that it was a gift for me. I wasn’t very good at expressing myself, and would say “thank you” softely… I think each time my parents or whoever the giver was thought I didn’t appreciate the gift. I don’t know if they ever realized how awestruck I had been by the gifts.
Giving and receiving, especially at Christmas, do go hand in hand.
At other holidays, like birthdays or Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, the concept is still there, but the giving and receiving aren’t as obvious. The giver is given joy when the receiver receives the gift with joy. If the receiver receives the gift half heartedly, or just sets the gift aside, the giver doesn’t receive back.
I wonder how God’s perspective is on us receiving the gift of eternal life through Jesus? I know so often my focus is taken off the amazing gift. Though I am thankful for Salvation, I still so often ask God for more, and am often frusterated when things in this world are challenging. It would be best to keep the gift from God that He gave in perfect love, and to walk daily with a grateful heart. It IS a supernatural miracle of love that Jesus IS the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!
I am really looking forward to the new album!!! May God’s gift of love continually be revealed in deeper ways to you and Jenny and your children!!!