December 2023 - Gift with Love

"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." - Isaiah 9:6 

With the rush and cheer of Christmas, our last chapter is ushered in. For those who don't have the money or maybe have a lack of gift-giving talent, Christmas gifts can be the most stressful part of the season, which is why the reason for gift giving is so important. Christmas gifts symbolize the one true gift, Jesus Christ Himself. If gift giving is stressful and done out of duty rather than love, you are going about it all wrong. Jesus Christ is love. 1 John 4:8b says, "For God is Love." If the gifts that you give are not given out of love, it removes the whole purpose for giving in the first place. So this season, let's focus on giving with love.

For those of you who do not know, there are 5 different ways we as humans show and receive love: Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Touch, Quality Time, and Gifts. My personal love language is gifts. As a result, I have always loved the gift part of the season. However, growing up, it could become stressful as I wanted to show how much I loved someone but lacked the knowledge or wherewithal to do so. These past few years I have learned to gift differently. 

Rather than endeavoring to purchase a gift that will soon be forgotten, just so I can look good and say that I got that person a gift, I now seek to give a gift that will show how much I love and care about the individual themself. 

My formula for gift giving is simple:

First, if possible, learn their love language. My love language is gifts, so my first instinct is to pick out an item that coincides with the recipient's taste. However, for those like my sister, whose love language is acts of service, an offer to babysit means so much more. (And considering she is a minimalist, she won't be stressed out by the extra decor that she really didn't want. :)

Second, learn who they are and what they like. I like to read, love Snickers, have an enneagram type of 8w7, and gifts is my love language. If you take the time and effort to discover that and gift me a copy of a book on leadership and a Snickers bar, I will be quite content. For some, however, peanuts are deadly and they consider reading torture. Discovering the intricacies of a person can change a gift from a piece of trash they throw out the minute they walk in the door to a memory they treasure for the rest of their life. And the best part about it is... you can usually get the information through a quick text. My family uses this simple list: Fill in the blanks... Candy: Snacks: Drink: Food: Color: Sport: Hobby: Love language: Gift Card: What would you want most: 

Third, if you don't have money, don't buy; create. A homemade gift can be just as meaningful as store-bought. Get creative. Baking, sewing, drawing, building, babysitting, music, massages, or simply spending time with someone can mean just as much if not more than a gift purchased. Spend an afternoon with your grandmother, bake your papa a batch of cookies (or cookie dough if he's like mine:), babysit so your married sibling can go on a date with their spouse, give your mother a neck rub... the possibilities are endless. 

Using the recipient's love language, knowing who they are and what they like, and creating a gift around those traits, can take the stress out of gift giving and return the joy the tradition was designed to bring. This season let's show our Savior's love through the gifts that we give and the joy that we share. "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." - Luke 2:11