The Christmas Gift
JCS has an opportunity for elementary students to shop from some local vendors for Christmas gifts for parents, siblings, etc. We sent money for Parks and Ezri to get gifts, along with a note listing the people they were to find something for - parents, siblings, and Grammy and Pappy.
Ezri's gifts were something special . . . but Parks, who is old enough to have a resemblance of an idea, took the cake! His bag of candy for Grammy, pappy, and ezri to all share as a joint gift was memorable itself (And one he suggested we open the day he brought it home to share with the rest of the family!), but the real kicker was how he decided he needed . . . NEEDED . . . this railroad spike with the words "kiss me" painted on it. So he scrounged on the other gifts and got it for himself.
For Christmas.
With the money we gave him for others.
Now he HAS used it multiple times just as seen in the video, but every time I see it I cannot stop laughing at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. We were tempted to make him give it to Pappy and Grammy, but then realized they would have to have all the responsibility of taking care of the kiss-me Breaker (which is what he calls it).
Giving is sometimes a challenge for us all. Too often we give to those who will pay us back, or who have given to us in the past. Jesus challenges us to think a little differently about giving though - to lend without expecting it to come back (Luke 6:35)...to give strangers cups of water in his name (Matthew 25)...to mend and love those who are in need but might see things very differently than we do (good Samaritan story)...and all of this fits under the challenge to Love God and Love Others (Matthew 22:27-29).
May WE be challenged today to Love and Bless others around us in such a way that people can't help but see Jesus's love and grace pouring through us. Allow his love to break whatever it is that keeps us from loving as Jesus did. And still does
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