Gifts for Christ

So this Christmas season I have really had a lot of different feelings. Happiness, joy, excitement, dread, sadness and peace. Some may think a few of these adjectives are a misprint but they are not. I believe that there will be a day when I will come back and read some of my posts or a member of my family will and we will receive strength or understanding from it. This will probably be one of those posts. I have to say that I am typing this post while crying at the same time. Today has been interesting. This afternoon I went to wash my hands and the water was not coming out. For the first time in my life the water to my home was shut off. For me this is VERY embarrassing to state but I do it for a reason. As I realized what happened I went straight to my husband and asked him what we should do and how we were going to pay the bill so we could have our water turned back on right away. I said I was NOT going to call my parents or family and ask for help. I knew that as husband and wife we needed to find $100 and fast! So we sat and discussed it for quite a while. I sat in a chair and cried as I tried to think of what to do. I then knew what needed to be done and I cried even harder. I went to Billy and told him I knew what we needed to do to get the money. So we took all the ornaments off of our tree and put them in a box and returned our beautiful tree that we had bought last year back to Costco. I cried most of the time while we took them off while also trying to explain to my 5 year old daughter about why we were taking her decorated tree down. So it all worked out and we got the cash back for the tree and paid our bill. This whole Christmas season I have been really trying to teach my family that the very best gifts we can give for Christmas are gifts of service. These types of gifts don't usually cost money but they for sure give the best rewards! So this year as we celebrate we may not have everything we want but we will have everything we need! I'm so blessed to have such a great family who I love and who love me. I am especially grateful for my Savior who knows EXACTLY how I am feeling at this time in my life. I know there are so many people who are so much worse than our little family and I pray that I will take any opportunities I am given to serve them. I know that we are so blessed that my husband has a job and that we can be provided for. So at this time I am reminding myself what I have been really trying to teach my kids this Christmas season...the best gifts we can give to Christ for the celebration of his birth is service to those in need. Those who are so much worse off then us. Christmas isn't about the tree or the gifts underneath it, it's about the family that is kneeled in a circle praying to our Father in Heaven. Merry Christmas!!

P.S.
We will be going back on Saturday morning after we get Billy's paycheck and buying another tree from Costco with the money that we would have used to pay the water bill. So just a week without a tree but it will still be missed in the mean time. :)