Gifts

Growing up, I didn't celebrate Christmas. Well, we did have gifts. Our parents did a good job of making sure we were not left out when all our friends were getting stuff this time of year. I loved opening presents. Over the years, my brother and sister would kid me that the gift wouldn't matter, as long as I opened a lot of presents. It was so bad, that one year my parents got me a drum set, and they wrapped each drum, cymbal, stand, stick, etc. separately. It was actually pretty cool. Frustrating but cool.

This year was different for me and our family, including our extended family. We got our kids considerably less, and requested considerably less. And you know what? It was awseome. Our children were not asking, "do I have another?" Don't get me wrong. It was hard for the grandparents, but they did it anyway. The kids were just fine.

Gifts are an interesting thing. Why do we give gifts? I know we say we give so that we can make someone happy, but then if they don't respond appropriately when they open it, don't we feel disappointed? I mean, I spent so much time, energy, and money on that gift! It is THE gift for them. Why are they not more excited??? Why do we feel disappointed when they don't react the way WE want them to react?

My wife does an excellent job of giving gifts. I think its her "gift". She has this ability to give me a gift that I am not expecting, that is absolutely perfect for the present time. I am not really sure how she does it. Me on the other hand, I am terrible at giving gifts. That's the reason why you should never tell me "thank you" for a gift that the Wilkins family gave you. More than likely, Michelle was the one who picked it out. I'm just saying....

One of our cousins was asking me what I wanted for Christmas over Thanksgiving. I had to think about it. Finally, I said, "you know, a book is always good thing." And this is a true statement. But let's think about this a little bit further: I had to "THINK" about what I wanted someone to get me. I really struggled with this. I mean, I have a good job. If there is something I want, I usually go buy it. I sometimes come home with a surprise for the kids or the wife for no apparent reason. I usually don't save up my wishes for Christmas, create a list, and then hand it out. I guess that is the reason why some say that I am rather "hard to buy for."

But let's dig even further, because that is where I stayed for a few days. After the conversation with my cousin, I couldn't stop thinking about the concept of buying gifts. The reason for this is there are millions, if not billions of people who just don't have anything. Nothing. Zip. And it was that thought that kept popping in my head. It wouldn't go away. Well, it turns out there are a litany of charity organizations that are begging for people to help out. Compassion International is one of these groups that allows you to sponsor a child for just a few dollars a month. Hope International is another that provides micro loans to self employed people in 3rd world countries. Michelle and I presented the concept of micro finance loans to our college group, and they raised $100 dollars that we gave as a group to this charity. They were so excited! And don't miss the importance in this: 100 dollars is a lot of money for a group of college kids! But they saw a situation where they could give something meaningful and how it would be a positive impact in someone's life. My point in all this is that it seems we do not have to break the bank with our own kids and family, because they are usually content. We can actually provide money to those who truly are in need. And this is exactly what Michelle and I are going to do for 2010, and hopefully, beyond.

Back to the conversation with my cousin. I ended up telling him later on that I really didn't need anything , and that I believed he could do better by purchasing a goat for a family through World Vision or some organzation of his choosing. I also told him about Michelle and I planning to sponsor a child. He got back with me later on, and it turned out that he and his wife were planning on sponsoring a child to. How cool is that?! They had been talking about similar concepts and were struggling with what to do. My thoughts only soldified their decision.

I want to be real clear: this is not a guilt blog to make you go out and give money to an organization. That is not my intent. I want people to understand that for many of us, we give gifts for other reasons than to make the gift reciever happy. And for the gift reciever, they usually have the things they need or want. Now, I know you want to give things to your significant other, kids, favorite son-in-law, etc. And these are good things. But, if you really want to make somebody happy, why not give in a manner that provides for people's basic needs?