Admittedly, gift buying can provoke a certain amount of tension. You want to make reasonable decisions and stay within your budget. Still, you want to make sure you communicate your love and concern for the people with whom you are sharing. After all, we all remember the wallet Grandma bought for us when we were ten years old and how we promised ourselves we would NEVER give something like that to people we cared about.
So, today I present to you the first official "Woody Roland Guide to Christmas Gifts":
If you live in the States, you should consider truck stops as a possible source of quick gifts for those you love. Seriously. Besides the GPS navigational packs for the men in your family, you should remember that it may be one of the only places you can still get CDs of Porter Wagoner singing with a very young Dolly Parton. Su once found a great gift for our grandson, Jonathan, at a truck stop - an official Buckee Beaver cap (I neither am nor could make this up!). Remember, there should be no negative stigma attached to shopping in truck stops. After all, Ummu Bradley Thomas, the founder of the Freddie Bell Jones Modeling and Finishing School in Denton, Maryland, says, "Even road maps make a perfect stocking stuffer for children."
Once again, I really am not making this up.
Although I have not lived in the States for a long time, I have observed there is now a Walgreens or CVS on almost every street corner. It would seem they would be an excellent place to pick up the right gift quickly. Admittedly, in Texas both of these stores run excellent specials on Blue Bell ice cream. However, as much as I like Blue Bell and believe it is the perfect gift for all occasions, it tends to "go soft" when you wrap it and place it under the tree. Still, according to Kerry K. Taylor, creator of the frugal shopping advice site Squawkfox.com, drug stores are a good source for cheap cosmetics for teenage girls. Ms. Taylor identifies these as "the perfect stocking stuffers." For the record,Justin Bieber's perfume "Someday" is now four dollars cheaper at Walgreens than Target. However, when tempted to buy it, please remember that wallet Grandma gave you. Please... just put it down... and back away slowly. You don't have to do this.
It is not necessary to live in the States to know that online gift buying beats even truck stops and corner drug stores for convenience. According to a survey commissioned by CashStar, a digital gift company, many people are now making their holiday purchases while in unusual life situations. Favorite locations for doing holiday shopping are during business meetings and, despite warnings about texting and driving, while stuck in traffic. Perhaps the most disturbing statistic is that 16% of the Christmas gifts purchased online are bought while in the bathroom. I wish I was making this up!
Since the whole reason we give gifts at Christmas (besides rescuing capitalism) is the gift that God gave us when He sent His son, it might be worthwhile to think of what gift we could give back to Him from our rather limited resources. Seriously, what are some things we could offer God as we walk through the Advent season - something better than a wallet? A few quick suggestions:
1. Recognize His place in this holiday season and very literally humble our hearts - after all, He really is the reason for the season. It is not about us. It should be focused on Him and His gift.
2. Repent. That's right. We don't talk a great deal about repentance anymore. However, there is a great deal of that we need to do during our lifetime. In my experience, repentance is usually a process rather than an act. However, it begins with a decision to quit going our way and start going His. Christmas seems like an excellent time to reflect on those things which have entered into our lives this year and have produced some distance between us and God.
3. Give Him your time. There is many ways you can do this - studying the Scriptures, prayer, serving others, etc. Every intimate relationship requires time. Let's give Him some of ours this year.
4. Obedience. This is probably related to repenting. God is pleased when we choose to obey Him... no matter what is happening around us.
5. Faith, especially during the challenging times. Throughout history God has been glorified when men put their faith in Him. It is not uncommon to have to face dark personal times during the holidays. If you are struggling this year, making the choice to trust in God would be a precious gift to give the Savior.
Admittedly, my short list of gifts to give to God is not very convenient. Each one of them would deeply impact the way we live during this Christmas season. However, on the bright side, they could help us avoid buying Justin Bieber's latest perfume or, even, his singing toothbrush. Really. As you know, I couldn't make something like this up.
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