Gifts that Make an Impact

The following is the reflection I wrote for my monthly mission education bulletin at work. I just sent it out on Tuesday, and I've already had a teacher write to me and say she tracked the book down and ordered a copy for her classroom. So I decided to share it here too. (So be warned family and friends, if we got your name, you can expect your gifts to fall in these categories!) Here it is...

I love childrens books! I always have; even as an adult, and even before I had children. In fact, my children arrived with a pretty hefty supply of books already waiting due to my long-time love (and that supply has only increased since). Recently I happened upon another beautiful childrens book that I’d like to introduce you to. It’s called Three Wise Women by Mary Hoffman. In this story we meet three women from different parts of the world who see a bright and beautiful star that beckons them to follow. As they journey they find a new young family; a family that has just been visited by three wealthy men who left very rich gifts for the newborn baby. Saddened that they don’t have rich gifts to give also, yet filled with such joy and love for the family, they give the only things they have with them to share—a loaf of bread, a story and a kiss. Their gifts, more so than the expensive ones left by the wise men, stick with the child and become the most useful as he grows. It is a message of sharing gifts of who we are, and knowing that these are the gifts that can truly have the most impact on the receiver, and as a result, the world.

What Mary Hoffman didn’t know (although I’m guessing she at least hoped) is that her story would change the way I do Christmas this year. Times are tight in our household, as I’m sure they are for so many, especially in this difficult economic time and this difficult season. It is a struggle as my husband and I think of the Christmas we’d like to be able to give our kids, compared to that which we can afford to give. Yet if times are tight for us, I can only imagine that they are even more so for so many in our communities and around the world. That is why this year I am determined to be a “wise woman” in my gift-giving. My family has chosen to give only gifts that include fair trade, hand-made, re-used, donation-alternative gifts, or hand-made from local not-for-profit craftspeople. In some ways it is more challenging than scanning the shelves at our local Target or Toys-R-Us; but it is also a lot of fun to think of creative gifts for everyone that can be found within these categories, along with digging deeper into ourselves to find what gifts and talents we have that we can share. But best of all it is a blessing to know that our gifts are helping others in need, on top of the smiles they will hopefully give our loved ones when they open their packages on Christmas.

I challenge you to consider a similar goal this year—give of yourself, or give gifts that “give twice” by supporting Fair Trade or alternative gifts. And challenge your communities to do likewise—organize a Fair Trade or alternative gift sale after Mass, ask students to make a donation in your name instead of giving Christmas gifts, do likewise for them, do an Advent collection for the poor, or go caroling/do a service project in lieu of a Christmas party. I think you’ll be amazed at what this new kind of giving can do for all. And as Mary Hoffman’s story shares with us (SPOILER ALERT!), “The star-baby in the stable never forgot the women and their presents...And the Man whose birth had been marked by a new star taught the whole world that the greatest gift of all is love.”