A Different Kind of Gifting

(January 27, 2021) If Christmas is called “the season of giving,” what’s the rest of the year called?

A lot of focus is put on gift-giving during the holiday season, and with good reason. When chosen with care, a gift can bring great joy to the recipient and also to the giver. One of the best feelings in the world is the excitement of watching someone’s face light up when they open a gift we’ve picked out for them.

Of course, holidays and other special occasions give us excuses to shower our loved ones with presents. Let’s not stop there, though! How fun it would be to turn our ordinary activities into gift-giving opportunities! Let’s look for gifts we can give throughout the year, whether they’re homemade, intangible, or store-bought.

Some of our most treasured gifts are disguised as favors, time, or simple surprises. Whose heart hasn’t been melted by a three-year-old handing us a bouquet of dandelions?  We could send a funny email to someone we haven’t seen in a while, pick up a cheery greeting card at the dollar store and mail it to a family member, add our beloved’s favorite ice cream or chocolate bar to the grocery cart., or take a picture of an adorable puppy and text it to a friend. All of these are gifts! A gift could be inviting a friend over, baking a special dessert, or sharing a favorite recipe. These kinds of gifts create some of our happiest memories, perhaps because of their simplicity. 

God has gifted us with today. He’s given us our lives, our personalities, our talents and quirks to share with the people around us. Let’s do something different this year. Let’s find ways to shower the people around us with gifts – especially the simple, surprise kind.

“What you are is God’s gift to you;

what you become is your gift to God.”

– Hans Urs von Balthasar

This article is a personal reflection by Gina Bedell © 2021. It and other reflections written by her invite the reader to reflect on a given topic and then seek deeper answers through prayer, additional spiritual reading, and/or consultation with clergy or other persons who may guide the reader to a deeper faith and understanding of God’s love and will for their life.