The Greatest Gift
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Heading into the Christmas holiday, I'm feeling nostalgic about my childhood experience of the holiday. I was so excited about what I was going to get, anticipating receiving gifts that would bring me so much joy. But where are those toys and trinkets now? Forgotten barely three months later, their real value was just in the feeling of satisfaction they brought in the moment. Today, I seek after greater gifts with more long lasting value. This line of thought inspired the poem, The Greatest Gift:
Siblings waking, stifling their yawns
Wearing my “Daddy’s Girl” pjs I see
Colorful boxes under the tree
Eyes open wide, excitement peaks
Shaking the first box my greedy hands seek
Hoping for wonderful things it could be
Wishing for something to satisfy me
Now what I seek is true love, heart ablaze
Fiery devotion of one truly good soul
Someone to make me feel worthy and whole
Failing through boyfriends to get what I need
Bitterness then sprouting up like a weed
Follow the formula, move with the mob
Work like a man and hope for rewards
Practice assertiveness, say the right words
Year after year, though mastery grows
Contentment eludes me and why, I don’t know
I bought and consumed; I craved and I yearned
Materials lost, taken, given away
Looking for value in what’s made to stay
Thought I’d get rescued, can I save myself?
That isn’t working; I really need help.
Now waning in value, allowed to depart
Releasing appearance, declutter with ease
Things are replaced with a measure of peace
The answer not outward but buried inside
I stopped all my striving and found sweet relief
Ending the reign of the seeker's joy thief
Yielding control of the burdens, they lift
Revealing the joy that’s the inner world’s gift
This Christmas, I will be looking inward for the gifts I want. These are the fruits of the Spirit made available to me by the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. At our deepest core, I suspect this may be something we all have in common; that these are what we all truly want after all is said and done.
I wish you a beautiful, blessed Christmas!