Pretty Purposed: The Reason for the Season

Wow! It has been a while. I pray that all has been well with you. My life has been a roller coaster lately, but the good thing is, God is the same everyday. I am grateful to see another holiday season, and happy to say that my recent persecutions and sufferings have changed some of my views of the holidays for the better.

As a young mom, I have been granted the gift of shaping how my son views and shapes the holidays, and since he was three this year, he actually could understand the meaning of Christmas. No doubt, God made no mistakes with how things went in my life this year. Everything was all in his perfect will. I am excited to share with you how we spent this Christmas, and maybe it will ignite some ideas for you as well. More importantly, I wanted to teach my son, the real reason for the season.

1. Do some kind of service

This year my non-profit ran a toy drive for the children of incarcerated parents. We collected toys and delivered them to the jail. The parents were able to give their child a toy on Christmas day. The volunteer coordinator from Riverside Regional Jail said this was empowering for the parents, and meaningful to the children. There are so many service opportunities to get involved with. Just helping one person makes a big difference. Initially I tried to hide the toys from my little one, but of course he found them, seeing as though we live in a two bedroom apartment. It provided a great, teachable moment. I explained to my son that the loads of toys that were in the apartment were not for him, but they were for other children, thus teaching him that it is not all about him in life-it is a joy to give to others.

2. Have a small gathering with family or friends

I hosted a light social at my house to top off the toy drive. Light refreshments and wine were provided. It was nice to talk and laugh with people. We collected more toys as well. The cost to do this was very inexpensive. You can also tell people to bring a dish to offset the cost. Just being in the presence of wonderful people was a joy!

3. Invite someone over for the holidays

Many of us forget that not everyone has family to spend the holidays with. I invited a friend over on Christmas Eve just for wine and lunch, and she shared with me how she is usually alone for Christmas. It was nice just to make her smile with wine and lunch. No, it was not a huge gesture, but just the company of others can cheer someone up a little. Just think about all the college students, military, and other people that are alone for the holidays. This was refreshing for me as well.

4. Focus on the story of Jesus Christ

This year I did several things to teach my child about the greatest story ever told:

We read a wonderful, children's book about Jesus's birth.

Instead of cookies for Santa, he made a birthday card for Jesus and a thank you card for God.

We had conversations with God about the holiday.

My son knows that God provided his gifts. Santa Claus is a play friend to us, just like superheroes and Ninja Turtles. I allow my son to see and read about Santa, however, I talk about Jesus. My son experiences the same excitement that everyone else's child does. James 1:17 says every good gift comes from above, and I chose to stick to that.

5. Encourage your child to give

I did not purchase gifts this year because I am still recovering from being out of work for months, however, I did get my son's teacher and two of his friends small gifts. My son was so excited to give!
I explained to him that we give gifts just like the three wise-men presented Jesus with gifts. He shared his favorite cookies with his friends at school, and we also baked cookies Christmas Eve to share with friends.

6. Give your child something to look forward to

It is easy to over indulge our children because we want to see them happy, and we live in a materialistic world. We also live in a world that showcases everything due to social media. It is easy to grow discontent, become envious, and compare and contrast what we have. Well this Christmas, I decided to only purchase two things that were good investments for my son, and he loves them. He got his own tablet and a Ninja Turtle Playhut. He has been so happy with those two gifts. He wants to stay in the playhut all day! On Christmas morning he thanked God for the gifts! He also received gifts from family, and he was able to personally hug them and tell them thank you. I am so glad I did not try to run and get him everything under the sun, just for the sake of my own self-fulfillment. I let God lead me on what to buy him. He has enough. I want to foster contentment in my child.

7. Spread Spiritual Gifts and Fruits

Love, peace, joy, special knowledge, and faith are all wonderful gifts to spread all the time. Stop feeling pressured to purchase materialistic gifts. Someone told me that they felt like they had to buy someone else a gift just because that person, whom they barely knew, purchased them a gift. That is ridiculous. Many people say they feel bad because they cannot give all the people they want gifts. This season is supposed to bring happiness, not sadness. People get into car accidents ripping and running in the holiday hustle and bustle. Bills do not get paid and credit cards are being used. I am not saying to not buy gifts, because if you have it to spend, then do so. I like nice things just like anyone, however, I think our focus needs to shift. Start buying gifts early in the year, do a gift exchange if you have a huge family or group of friends, set aside a holiday fund, just don't rob Peter to buy gifts for Paul and everyone else looking for a handout. I specifically told people to not get me a gift this year. I'd rather them save the money and do something for themselves. A friend of mine lost $700 dollars worth of gifts through UPS. They are going to locate the package or refund his money, but he was naturally bothered because he could not take the gifts to his family. He was worried about what they would think. Well if someone is going to be upset because they did not get a gift from you, perhaps you need reevaluate them being apart of your life.

Well, those are just a few of my thoughts. Remember the reason for the season!