The Giver of Good Gifts
This week’s article is brought to you by Jessica - if you can, be sure to support her missionary work with FOCUS
The day after Thanksgiving—popularly known as Black Friday—is what some people regard as the “beginning of the Christmas season.” Just a few hours after Grandma’s famous Thanksgiving turkey is carved, masses of budget-seeking, albeit well-meaning, individuals flock to the stores to search for the steals of the season.
This sequence of events usually opens the floor for family and friends to ask the inevitable question: “What do you want for Christmas?”
This question almost always (especially in recent years) catches me off guard.
“What do I want?”
It’s a question I often ask, yet never really stop to think about it. I hasten to write it off from experiencing too many years of unrealistic expectations gone unfilled regarding Christmas presents. Understanding this, I’ve learned to suppress any desire that seems unattainable, relinquishing these desires throughout the years, as to not be disappointed when my high expectations aren’t met.
Yet, I still want. I still long for - yearn for - things unable to be packaged, wrapped, and tied with a store-bought bow.
As people began asking these questions this year and my personal reflection began, I started to discover that what I want from family and friends is so much more than a wrapped present could provide. What I want is not a new sweater or piece of decor to go in my apartment.
My heart wants more than that - my heart needs more than that.
I think it’s tempting to speak about gifts as a way to hide behind the more important things I may be wanting from my family.
Affection. Gentleness. Understanding.
Uninterrupted quality time.
Laughter.
Vulnerability.
I’m finding that my heart wants something more than a store-bought item can ever hope to provide - my heart wants to be known, loved and cared for by those I’m gathering with.
More than this - I want everyone around me to feel this desire as well. Rather than allowing the superficiality of consumerism to cloud our vision and obscure the needs of our hearts, I want everyone to recognize their deepest desire to be known, loved, and cared for in a way that points to the source of all good gifts.
So, I turn to the Lord Himself - the Ultimate Giver of good gifts - and find that my original question has changed… has deepened. No longer am I sucked into the consumerist trap of asking, “What do I want?” Now, I find that my confidence in who I know my God to be allows me to ask, “What do I truly need?”
Without skipping a beat, His tender response is always, “What I want to give.”
...and what does he want to give us?
His very self.
Friends, our Lord wants to give us more than we’ve ever asked for. The desire of our own hearts is His very self and this desire aligns perfectly with His. We know this because He already made it happen. He enters into our own humanity - our own mess - to be as close to us as possible.
Only a few days away from Christmas, there is no better time like the present to really examine our lives. Where is the messiness? Where are the parts of our lives we are least proud of? What is the mess I want to brush under the carpet or close behind a locked door before the Christ-child comes into the world?
No matter what it is - those wounded and broken parts of our lives are exactly why He came into this world 2,000 years ago and it is exactly where he wants to be with you right now.
He is walking with us in the midst of our messes, pleading with us to receive his gift - to receive Him.
He is born into the poverty of a stable, surrounded by indifference and uncertainty to show us that he hears the cries of our poor, little hearts.
He is with us in our darkness, in our loneliness and isolation, and pours out His blood on the Cross so we can see the lengths He will go to show us that the greatest gift we could give Him is our very self. He wants us. He wants you. He wants me.
This remains hard for me to comprehend. Reflecting on the Father’s love for His children and His longing to give us good gifts, I begin to contemplate my hesitation to come into agreement with this truth about our Heavenly Father.
Why am I hesitant to ask for something I desire?
Why am I hesitant to believe God wants to listen to me and partner with my good desires?
Why am I hesitant to desire anything at all?
As I ask myself these same questions, I can’t help but continuously wonder—is it because I don’t trust God’s infinite, perfect love for me? Do I carry with me some kind of distorted or warped image of the Father that would lead me to believe that he wants to trick me, mislead me, or deprive me of what is really best for me?
This year, though, I encourage you to examine your hearts - take an inventory perhaps - allowing yourself to ask the Lord for what you really need this year.
Ask Him to help you receive His gifts joyfully and ask Him to help you make a gift of your whole self for Him (every part - all of the mess).
To receive anything as a gift, there must be space. When receiving a physical gift from family and friends, you clear space, tidying up to make room for their presence and any presents they decide to give. How much more must we make space for Him who loves us and longs to give Himself as a gift to us. How can we make room for Him today?
Our hearts need to be cleaned up of the little and big messes we try to hide away. We don’t have to do this alone, either. We celebrate his coming at Christmas, but He is already with us to help us do just that. We will find that our hearts seem to grow in size as we spend more time with Him, allow Him to love us, and give Him the opportunity to clean up and heal the messes within our lives.
How can you ready your heart to receive the gift of Christ?
While we only have a few hours left before we begin to celebrate Christmas, we can use the time we have to start building new habits and make it easier to receive His gift of self.
To receive him, we must make the space, practical ways to make space for the Lord’s coming this Christmas:
Practicing silence and simply being in His presence
Praying with scripture
Scripture (particularly the Gospels) helps us to know Christ and His love for us. Learn how here)
Praying the Angelus
Examen (check ours out here)
As we examine our hearts more closely this season, let us not turn ourselves away from the messiness of our own hearts, but instead be drawn ever nearer to His own heart, which is ready to both receive us as we are, as well as give Himself and His love to us. May we look into His tender gaze, allowing Him to grant us the courage we need to gently look inside ourselves to acknowledge what we would normally be quick to hide and open our hearts even more to Him, so He may fill it with His everlasting gift of His love.