It's starting to be the season of gift-giving again. Christmas: the day where we celebrate the best Gift of all- Jesus Christ. Our tradition of giving gifts at Christmas should remind us of the{Him}Gift, shouldn't it? But sadly, this is not always true. I for sure don't always think about it.
Yesterday though, I was reminded about what gift-giving is all about. And who better to show me this than my Mom, who is one of the best gift-givers I know.
We took a short 15-minute drive to a village near us named Celadna. This village is the "fancy" village of our area, and has an adorable gift store/cafe right on the square, with just the kinds of things that my mom and I love. We walked around the store, finding this and that, until we came upon something that captured the attention of both of us.
Mom: "Claire, isn't that gorgeous?! Someone needs that...don't you think someone needs that?"
Me: "Woow...who could that be for though?"
Mom: "I don't know...I wonder how much it is... Let's take a look at it."
It was a red train with two wagons, on which were boxes - 24 to be exact. Yep, it was an advent calendar. And it was even 40% off! It was one of those one-of-a-kind, tradition-forming things.
Me: Thinking of Michelle (Mom's friend in the States, who is a whizzz shopper, and who's shopping buddy, she says, is Jesus!) "Does Jesus want you to buy it? How about we flip." (We sometimes flip a coin and ask Jesus if we should buy something if we're not sure...it may sound weird, but hey, the disciples cast lots in the Bible too! And it makes things a lot easier!)
Mom flipped a coin, and we got heads -- YES (buy it).
We still didn't know who it was for, but Mom put the train on the counter at the registry, and we continued to walk around the store looking at everything they had.
Then...
Mom: "Claire! I think I know who it's for. I wouldn't normally give this kind of gift, but this is just special. It's for Aleisha [Amazing mom to Cece, and twins Gabe and Alex]."
Me: "Really? Oooh...you're right. She's gonna love it!"
Mom: "What if this ended up being a tradition for them...you know, like our advent calendar?"
I couldn't stop grinning, knowing that this was who Jesus had in mind when He gave us "heads" on the coin.
We stopped by the little grocery store on the square and picked up some little bags of candy. Filling each of the little boxes with a candy, I thought about how Cece would smile every time she opened one.
The rest of the story to be continued...including pictures of Cece and the full train too. :)
Yesterday though, I was reminded about what gift-giving is all about. And who better to show me this than my Mom, who is one of the best gift-givers I know.
We took a short 15-minute drive to a village near us named Celadna. This village is the "fancy" village of our area, and has an adorable gift store/cafe right on the square, with just the kinds of things that my mom and I love. We walked around the store, finding this and that, until we came upon something that captured the attention of both of us.
Mom: "Claire, isn't that gorgeous?! Someone needs that...don't you think someone needs that?"
Me: "Woow...who could that be for though?"
Mom: "I don't know...I wonder how much it is... Let's take a look at it."
It was a red train with two wagons, on which were boxes - 24 to be exact. Yep, it was an advent calendar. And it was even 40% off! It was one of those one-of-a-kind, tradition-forming things.
Me: Thinking of Michelle (Mom's friend in the States, who is a whizzz shopper, and who's shopping buddy, she says, is Jesus!) "Does Jesus want you to buy it? How about we flip." (We sometimes flip a coin and ask Jesus if we should buy something if we're not sure...it may sound weird, but hey, the disciples cast lots in the Bible too! And it makes things a lot easier!)
Mom flipped a coin, and we got heads -- YES (buy it).
We still didn't know who it was for, but Mom put the train on the counter at the registry, and we continued to walk around the store looking at everything they had.
Then...
Mom: "Claire! I think I know who it's for. I wouldn't normally give this kind of gift, but this is just special. It's for Aleisha [Amazing mom to Cece, and twins Gabe and Alex]."
Me: "Really? Oooh...you're right. She's gonna love it!"
Mom: "What if this ended up being a tradition for them...you know, like our advent calendar?"
 | |
| Our advent calendar before any of the little wooden pictures were put up on the velcro studded tree! We've had it for as long as I can remember. It was a homemade gift from a family friend. |
We stopped by the little grocery store on the square and picked up some little bags of candy. Filling each of the little boxes with a candy, I thought about how Cece would smile every time she opened one.
The rest of the story to be continued...including pictures of Cece and the full train too. :)
Claire...I love your story! And to back up the coin flipping with Scripture...Proverbs 16:33 says that we can cast the lot (or flip the coin) but it is the Lord who makes the decision. So it's a fun way to invite Jesus into my shopping process. And now He has led you in that way too! I LOVE IT! Jesus is sooo fun to shop with! :o)
ReplyDeleteYou have no idea how excited Cece gets EVERY morning (we make her at least eat breakfast first:)).
ReplyDeleteWhen I was over there the other night, Cece, Gabe and Alex finished dinner and then got their candy out of the advent train!!! It's a tradition! :) LOVE!!!
ReplyDelete