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Each year our Christmas tree was laden with presents of every size and shape which were nestled under the glowing evergreen boughs. Our boys loved to shake every gift with their name on it, trying to discover what might be inside the festive wrappings. Seriously, how many presents did we need? In retrospect of Christmas past, I doubt my kids remember all the big and flashy gifts nor do I!

With past thoughts waltzing through my memory, I pushed further back in time to when I was a child.

We always purchased a real tree, but it wasn’t particularly large nor did it have perfectly shaped branches. Dad would load it into the trunk of the car and tie it down so it wouldn’t fall out. After getting the tree into our home, mom would situate the tree in a metal stand and fill the container with water to keep it from drying out. The breath-taking aroma of the pine quickly spread through the entire house, signaling the unmistakable scent of the holiday season! By Christmas Eve, there were a few modest gifts waiting to be unwrapped. In the morning my sister, brother, and I would eagerly run to our stockings to see the special present Santa had brought. And, without fail, there was always candy and a Christmas orange in the toe of our stocking!

As the years passed and my family moved from the states to Canada, my paternal grandparents always sent each member of our family a generous cheque for $100! In contrast, my maternal grandparents were not as financially secure and sent five dollars each, to my sister, brother, and me.

I recall thinking, why even bother, what would I buy with only five dollars, but then I’d feel guilty because I knew they loved us and that was all they could afford.

I haven’t thought of these circumstances for many years, but this morning I saw something quite different in this story.

I was very close to my paternal grandparents as they left a lasting mark on my life. Their annual Christmas gift was so generous and even after I married that monetary gift helped to buy presents for my own children and husband! (The exchange rate on the American dollar bumped the gift up even more!)

Although I loved my maternal grandparents very much, we didn’t see them very often due to the expense of travel to Canada whereas my other grandparents came for extended visits. So, in short, I loved, respected, and appreciated them but I didn’t have the same closeness.

But this morning I realized something new. My mom’s parents came to know the Lord in the early 80’s and began to pray for my mom and our entire family. It was through their prayers and the Holy Spirit that my mom came to know Christ as her Savior and Lord. As a Christian, mom joined her parents in prayer for the rest of us, that were far away from wanting anything to do with spiritual matters!

Mom started to read the Bible, attend church, and pray! It wasn’t long and my sister gave her heart to the Lord, and next, my brother went with a friend to our local college to hear a Christian speaker. That night they heard the message of salvation and the call to follow Jesus and it changed the direction of their lives forever. A couple of months later my brother helped me to realize where my life was heading and that evening I had a “light bulb” moment where the Spirit of the Lord showed me that I was a sinner, and I bowed my heart in surrender as the tears flowed. Several years later, my father also turned his heart to Christ. What a gift of faithful prayer that my grandparents gave to our entire family!

I understood with age how my mom’s parents were in endless court trials as they fought to save their farm from my grandfather’s family member. The ongoing court cases ran their finances dry, only leaving them enough to live on, but very little to share. It was a very sad story of greed.

So, of course I was always thrilled by the larger monetary gift but this morning I reflected on my grandparents’ sacrifice of five dollars to each of us which multiplied into a priceless eternal gift!

So, this brings us to the heart of Christmas. The true Christmas began with the gift of a humble King and a humble beginning.

It is the simplicity of that first Christmas that captures my heart. It isn’t in the amount of money or stack of presents we receive but the joy of knowing Christ as Savior and King!

This Christmas, I realize the best earthly gift I ever received was in the heart of my maternal grandparents who faithfully prayed for each member of my family. Not that I don’t truly cherish the close relationship with my paternal grandparents, but they couldn’t offer the gift of Jesus.

This Christmas, I urge you to turn your heart back to the manger where it all began over 2,000 years ago. That Bethlehem night held the humble birth of a King!

His love story reveals His sacrifice for each one of us; the redemptive plan of salvation; He was born to die so that we might live.

Take time to ponder God’s gift to the world. Quiet your thoughts with the true meaning of Christmas, knowing it’s not in the gifts, but in the Gift.