Christmas Gifts of Thoughtfulness

Several years ago, Steve and I agreed to make Christmas a time of ministering to others. Therefore, we decided that material gifts would not be in the spotlight. Instead, this year we decided to give each other “gifts of thoughtfulness,” which was a challenge because it required us to be listening to each other and looking for ways to honor each other with our time. For Steve, I collected photos and loaded them on his digital picture frame. Now Steve will be able to see lots of pictures of Sam while he is at work. Steve gave me TWO gifts of thoughtfulness. First, he surprised me by installing the bedroom ceiling fan we had acquired several weeks before. Second, he arranged a special family time for decorating our Christmas tree; in several years, it was the first time we had decorated our tree, and he knew how excited I was to start it as a family tradition.

We also used gifts of thoughtfulness as an excuse to meet some of our neighbors, most of whom were still strangers since we just moved to our neighborhood two months ago. We made gift boxes of hot cocoa mix and delivered them to a few neighbors. In Las Vegas, neighborhood relationships are very unusual, so we were often greeted at the door with skepticism. Some neighbors expected we were peddlers selling something, while others thought we were angry residents issuing a complaint. However, once our neighbors realized we were delivering Christmas gifts, most became very friendly and eager to chat. Hopefully, our visits were a first step toward melting the coldness people feel when they live next to strangers. In our neighborhood, there are many opportunities to build friendships and tell neighbors about Christ! Gifts of thoughtfulness encouraged us to be more Christlike by looking for ways to serve others.