We have sought long and hard to give the most appropriate gift. We have wanted to make others happy and we have wanted to show our love through the gifts we gave. We wanted to prove our caring through giving gifts and we became desperate when all the gifts we chose never seemed to quite express our true desire.

Sometimes we became discouraged with the commotion of Christmas gift giving and we resented and resisted the emptiness these gifts and commotions seemed to symbolize. We did not know what to give. We did not know what was appropriate. We did not know how to make others happy. It all seemed so meaningless.

There seemed to be much confusion around Christmas giving and receiving. How do we become suddenly close with those we never understood and who never seemed to understand us? How do we suddenly feel joy and connectedness where there has been distance and resentment? How do we give when we ourselves feel uncertain and fearful? How do we receive when there is guilt that we have not done our best?

We looked at Christmas time with hope and dread -- hope that our emptiness would be filled and dread that we may be left feeling empty once again. Hope that we may find connectedness, and dread that our loneliness would only be intensified.

The gift of True Christmas is not a gift we provide or come up with, although it may be expressed through us and around us. It is a gift that does the giving, does the receiving, does the connecting, and brings about the opening to all these things. Yes, we reach the point where we have nothing to give. We reach the point where we are unable to receive. But with this acknowledgment we can invite in the gift of giving and receiving -- the gift of true Christmas.

The gift of true Christmas is the gift of the Christ within, where all giving and receiving begins. It is the gift of connection with God, Who brings about all other connections. It is gift we cannot find by ourselves, but it is a gift God gives to us. It is a gift we might not know how to receive, but it it is a gift God will receive for us.

The gifts of true Christmas come in unlimited ways -- they come with our hearts and our joy of being together. They come with our love to open in understanding with those around us. They come with acceptance and gratitude of each other. They come with humility that the true gift of Christmas is far beyond what we have so desperately tried to provide and just as desperately tried to get. It is the spirit of Christmas, the spirit of Peace and Oneness that is expressed through whatever we are open to give and receive. It is the spirit of opening to a far greater vision and possibility of connection than we could ever dream possible. It is the spirit of blessings -- we are blessed with God's Spirit; we are blessed with God's "Presence".

It is a day of recognition that God's gift of the Christ within us is here eternally and is constantly given to us. It is a day of gratitude and remembrance that God's gifts are ours and we need only ask to be aware of them. It is a day of celebration, for it is our own birth -- the birth of another way, the birth of acceptance of our worth, the birth of our connection with those all around us. It is a day of inclusion -- the including of all living things into the circle of our Higher Power's Love.

The gift of True Christmas is your gift -- let it be given to you today.

God's gifts will never disappoint us.

Share this Gift with a Friend, Relative, Associate ...
Netscape's "File --> Send Page ..."
Explorer's "File --> Send To"

Copyright© 1997-2002 Vitagenics Institute Foundation Maynard and Leanne Dalderis