| Share |  |
 | |||
Your Presence is a Present
Sometime it’s easy to worry about just the right gifts to buy for those special ones on our holiday Christmas shopping list, but the most important gifts are often overlooked—the gift of ourselves.
No matter where we go and who we visit this Christmas, we will bring ourselves. We may not understand all there is to know about social graces, but we can understand that when we enter a room, we either bring a positive presence or a negative one. Our voices bring cheer or dread. Our focus is either on ourselves or others. Our spirits either bring peace or chaos. Our words bring healing or hurt.
During the busy season, with all the additional demands on our budget and our calendar… it is helpful if we stop to realize that our very “Presence is a Present”… so we should make it a good one!
As with any gift…we would prepare to make it pleasing and a blessing to whomever we are giving it to. Likewise, a little effort and thoughtfulness is needed as we prepare to give the “gift of self.”
These are some of the things to consider as we “collect,” “adorn” and “present” the gift of ourselves:
1-A Smile.
This gift doesn’t cost the giver anything but is always well-received and sure to please. The Bible says that the countenance of a friend is like honey; it refreshes the soul.
2-A Gentle Spirit.
This is a gift that requires a huge sacrifice but is well worth it. It is a presence that is unworried and un-angered.
3-A Peaceful Greeting.
This gift allows the giver to say, “Behold, I bring you greetings of good news and great joy!” Share this gift with everyone on your list throughout the season.
4-An Agreeable Attitude.
A great choice for the holidays. With the added stress and demands for decision making, it’s good to remain fluid and flexible. Be willing to bend your will a little and remember to “bend” and not “break.”
5- Genuine Love from the Heart.
This gift is of higher price than a strand of genuine pearls or pure gold. It’s a gift that will endure and last for generations to come.
If you give nothing else this year, except the things on this list, you are sure to be a blessing to everyone around you. Don’t forget to share your “presence” as a “present” to those who are less fortunate or lonely this season—those in jails, homeless shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, children’s homes, those alone or away from family this Christmas. Remember the fatherless and the widows—Jesus says that what we do for the least of these, we do for Him.
Copyright © 2008-2015 Debbie Reynolds Harper
Post Your Comment...
|
|
||||||||||||
