Gifts

This is the time of year when our thoughts often turn to gifts. Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa all involve gift giving. Let's explore some meaning and ponder a bit on gifts and gifting.

God has given each of us the gift of living on Earth for a while. Wouldn't it be funny if we came by that from winning a vacation on a spiritual game show? Do you think that in our soul state we got to spin a wheel, and it landed on "Get some time in a body on Earth?" Maybe it was a lottery and we randomly drew the body/Earth ticket? Or maybe we got a nicely wrapped box with pretty paper and a ribbon, and inside the box was a message that said, "Your gift is that you will get some time as a human. I hope you enjoy your time and make it count."

Since I grew up in a family who celebrated Christmas, I feel I can offer a perspective on the birth of Jesus as a gift from God. Jesus really made his time on Earth count, even though he wasn't here all that long and some of it included much too much suffering and loss. He was born to teach a very simple lesson, "God is love and we should love one another just as we love God." That's really the only gift Jesus had to give. Yet what he taught was a gift to the whole world. You don't even have to belong to a church dedicated to him to know that Jesus came into his body on Earth to teach love.

'Tis the season I am going to thank the God of my understanding for that gift long, long ago -- for giving a person who is still teaching me to love. I'll also thank Spirit for all the other teachers since Jesus who have taught me love. And in turn, as the student, I will try to teach love. For me, that's the meaning of Christmas.  I will appreciate gifts received as symbols of love, and I will give gifts hoping folks know how much I love them.

What will be the gift given to you this time of year? What deeper meaning will it have for you? Will you enjoy it and make it count?

Wishing you the most meaningful of the following:  Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanzaa, and happy holidays. Enjoy the divinity in the abundance of gifts given and received.