Giving & Getting

Sometimes in this life we feel like we're missing out. We feel like we're underprivileged. We feel like we don't have enough. We look at other people's lives and see all the luxuries they have and we wonder why our lives are so inadequate. We want what they have.

Around Christmas it's easy to make a list of things you want and get excited to receive gifts. It's easy to list out all the things you wish you could have and hope you get them. It's easy to get grumpy when we don't get what we want and have a fit that someone else got more than we did. It's easy to complain about things we wish we got instead or things we didn't like.

It's so easy to get caught up in the "getting" of the Christmas season and not focus on the giving part. You may think you need something this Christmas, but God has given you just what you need. Often we think earthly possessions will fill that void and make us feel happy, but in due time we will have that same urge to want more again. Nothing will satisfy us except Jesus and what we do for Him.

Often I feel the most joy and contentment when I give of myself to others and God. It's not about getting money or getting possessions, but giving of ourselves and showing others that we care. Often we forget of all the things God has blessed us with and we just focus on things we want to add to our lives.

It's so easy to see how privileged other families are with what they have and we compare all the things we are lacking in our lives to theirs and it makes us want more. But there are so many things that God has blessed each of us with. And even though there may be things you wish you could have, God has a reason why you may not have them. It is to protect and strengthen you, not to harm you.

Even though you may be looking at your life and seeing all the negatives and things you don't have, take some time to look at all God has given you. Remember that those things you open this Christmas may make you feel happy, but nothing can ever fill you like God's love. Do things in your life that will show God's love to others and will last longer than the things you have on your Christmas list.

The things in this life you will not be able to take with you to heaven. Focus on what will last in eternity and use it to influence others. It may seem like everyone's got more than you, but take a moment and look deeper into a person's heart- you may find that they are missing something if all they are focused on is their possessions. Use this Christmas to do something more than just give a material possession, but rather show God's love to someone, you never know how much it will touch them.