Unwanted Gifts

Have you seen that commercial where women go on vacation and Mother Nature shows up with a "gift"? Well, that was the start of my Christmas vacation. Very not fun. Not the kind of gift anyone wants for Christmas, that's for sure.

Christmas morning, I opened the gifts from hubby. I told him I didn't want anything. We were getting the Wii Fit and that was enough. I also wanted a new bowl set, but because I'm picky, I told him I wanted to pick it out, so not to bother. So for Christmas, he got me a set of bowls. Yep, wrong bowls. Don't get me wrong, they're nice bowls. But they aren't the kind I need, so even though I can use them, I still have to go buy the bowls I need. He also got me another gift that I thought was a little too expensive, and not something I really need, so I was frustrated with that. The third gift from hubby was sweet, so it wasn't a total loss. But still, a disappointing morning when I'd have been happier with nothing.

As the day wore on, I started feeling like I was coming down with something. By the end of the day, I couldn't deny it. Santa had brought me a cold.

At face value, you could say this has been a disappointing Christmas. The family loves the Wii, and even though I've played a couple of times, I don't feel like doing more than resting on the couch. I've gone to the other room and slept for a while when the sound of their joyful giggles made my head ache too much. As much as they are enjoying the perfect gift I've been wanting to give them for so long, I am not.

Today, when we went out to pick up a few things, we drove past a house that burned down the other day. Talk about an unwanted gift. I bet losing everything wasn't a part of their holiday plans. A friend of mine spent Christmas with her little one in ICU with flu symptoms. Another friend asked for prayers for a neighbor who found her husband dead of a heart attack on Christmas Day. I don't think they asked to lose a husband and father of two children for Christmas.

Even though it wasn't quite the holiday I expected, I have to sit here in gratitude for the things I did receive. Or at least still have. A nice, safe, comfortable home. Healthy children. A husband. Maybe I don't get to enjoy the Wii today, but I will. And my husband and kids are having a great time. Today, my 5yo thanked Jesus at dinner for our Wii. They're both pretty happy with everything they got. I'll be feeling better soon, and things will be back to normal.

We put so much emphasis on the material gifts that we sometimes forget about the best gift, the reason we celebrate the holiday to begin with. What are all these other things in comparison to that?

So today, I am thankful. Even for the unwanted gifts. Because I have the best gift of all.