December 21 – “Are you done yet?”

Well, it’s four days to Christmas.  So we started our Christmas shopping yesterday.  Well, not completely true.  We did do some on Thursday as well.  And not completely finished, either.  At least I’m not.  I have two more victims, er, recipients of Dad gifts that I need to complete.  Those are the special, “just for you because you really are more than just the parents of my grandkids” gifts that I personally select (and provide an explanation for) each Christmas.  Why is an explanation needed?  Well, because the gifts are so well thought out and so carefully selected that a simple “here it is” just isn’t enough.  Each one has a specific reason behind its selection.  Some particular anecdote from the year that I don’t want them to ever forget.  Perhaps I’ll return to the subject after making the presentations so that illustrations may help you understand a little better.  Or perhaps I’ll forget I ever mentioned in the first place.  Sigh.  That’s one of the perks of getting old, I guess. 

So, where did we go shopping?  Ah, searching for clues, eh?  I know we have some snoops in this family.  Every one of our boys at one time or another has been captured on camera in mid-snoop, and even a few of the grandchildren have been following in their footsteps.  Kel used to be (or at least think he was) the master of all snoops when he was growing up.  He would search out closets and cracks and crevices snooping for Christmas presents.  He even enlisted Nathan a time or two to “go where no Kel has gone before” in a desperate attempt to locate even the tiniest shred of evidence that some Christmas presents exist before Santa arrives.  He claims he was successful regularly.  We allow the claim.  We want our son to have a healthy self-esteem. 

In the spirit of the search, though, we spent most of the time at … Target.  Thought I was gonna say WalMart, didn’t you?  We thought Target would be a little less crowded and little less crazy.  I think we were correct in our hopes.  There was a fair crowd there, but everyone seemed … I don’t know … calm.  Guess five days before Christmas feels a lot less stressful that Christmas Eve.  That’s when I want to go ... to WalMart.  Not to buy anything, mind you.  I just want to watch all the people scurrying about after last-minute gifts in varying degrees of panic (“Oh, no, I forgot to get something for Uncle Goosebucket”) or artificial bravado (“Ha.  I waited until Christmas Eve on purpose.  It’s a challenge to me.  Proves I am a real man”).  Granted, some of them may indeed be accomplished shoppers or guys who just haven’t had the time, but I suspect most of them are guys who have no idea how to shop anyway.   Lots of fun.  See you Wednesday afternoon at WalMart?  Or maybe after the Christmas Eve services we can meet up and sit on the little bench at the front door …

Titus 2:13-14 says, “…we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

 
Father, watch over the frazzled and weary shoppers these next few days.  Give them some success in their endeavors so they can expend their energy where it matters … with their families.  Amen.