What EVERYONE wants for Christmas this year won’t cost any money. The rewards are priceless, and you’ll only have to spend some humility and a little courage to bless people with these intangible gifts.
What EVERYONE Wants for Christmas This Year
I went on a walk today, asking God to give me inspiration for a devotional. He then asked me, “What do you really want for Christmas this year?” These are the timeless, free gifts I’d truly love to receive from my loved ones. Even if I don’t receive them, I can give them out freely and fully with God’s help.
See if these gifts are on your Christmas list. I guarantee they are on the lists of all of your loved ones, even if they haven’t been written down. You can even give them out to total strangers, and when you do, you’ll be the face, hands and feet of Jesus everywhere you go.
Human Connection
Recently my robot vacuum bit the dust. This inconvenience taught me how dependent I am on the machines in my life. I couldn’t live without my computer, keyboard and mouse – and I really love my dishwasher too. Most of us are nearly addicted to our machines, especially our televisions and phones.
But we are all DNA-coded to crave human connection. I think the pandemic has reminded us of this truth in new ways. We need to be more intentional about offering the connection only humans can give one another, which will never be replicated by machines, or even by animals (though I surely love my dog!).
Start by making eye contact. Add a smile. If it’s appropriate, give a hug or a pat on the shoulder or arm. These are the gifts many people don’t receive on a daily basis.
I am sorry to say that at several family gatherings, some people have not even said “hello” to me for decades. However, I try at the very least to say “hello” and “goodbye” to them and attempt eye contact and a smile, even though these actions may not be returned. I believe every human deserves acknowledgement based on common courtesy. It is also a good way to put this verse into practice at family gatherings:
Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them.
Proverbs 3:27 NLT
Who needs your eye contact, smile or physical touch this Christmas?
Kindness
I remember hearing once in a radio sermon, “There is never a good reason to be unkind.” And yet, I have many memories of unkind words being spoken to me and others at Christmas gatherings. These barbs of unkindness have sunken deep and have taken a long time to heal. Though I can’t change the unkindness that I received, I can offer kindness instead.
Everyone wants to receive kindness, though few are willing to share it. Kindness is helpful, hospitable, loving and caring. It is gentle and humble. It focuses on serving the other person.
I need to grow in kindness this year, and I’m asking God to help me be kinder in my interactions. This means intentionally focusing on others instead of focusing on my own feelings. Asking God to help me in prayer on my way to the events certainly helps me remember to be kind.
I want to put this verse into action:
When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.
Proverbs 31:26 NLT
Kindness means not criticizing, barking orders or speaking with impatience or harshness. I’m sure my husband and children will appreciate this most, but others around me will appreciate an abundance of kindness from me too. I want my words and actions to be seasoned with kindness this year.
Who needs your kindness this Christmas?
Focused Attention
You may have read that the real way to spell LOVE is TIME. Since quality time and conversation is my primary love language, I have a deep need for focused attention. However, in our fast-paced, technologically-driven world, focused attention is coming in shorter supply, and many people are starving for it.
To offer focused attention as a gift this year, you’ll need to put down your phone. You’ll need to stop watching television. You’ll need to slow your racing thoughts and really pay attention to what the other person is saying. If you do, the other person will notice, and they may open up even more.
Some phrases you can use to indicate that you’re listening include:
- “I heard you say _____. Is that right?”
- “Tell me more about _____.”
- “Sounds like you are feeling _____.”
Focused attention is a priceless gift, because it is offered on an exclusive basis. No one else can listen the same way you do. No one else can process another person’s conversation in the same way. You have an enormous potential to bless someone with quality time this year, and it only requires you to stop and listen well.
Look at how Jesus emphasizes the importance of listening in this verse:
To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.
Matthew 13:12 NLT
Showing focused attention through listening pays huge dividends in your relationships. Even if others don’t return the favor, you can show them your love through listening.
Who needs your focused attention this Christmas?
Respect
Division is one of Satan’s primary weapons in our world today. He is working to keep people apart with their differences in opinions and values. However, we can offer one another respect, no matter our differences.
We can respect every other human being, no matter how obnoxious, as an image bearer (Gen. 1:27). Every person is loved so much by God that he sent Jesus to die for their sins (John 3:16). This is what Christmas is really about – Jesus coming to bridge the gap between sinners and a holy God. As Christians, we must also be the bridge through respecting anyone and everyone.
I have had to keep this truth in mind when dealing with especially difficult people at Christmas. I need to remember that I am not their judge – only God is a righteous judge, who knows all the secrets of the human heart. He knows their backstories, and he knows their motives. I cannot possibly see these things in my limited viewpoint, though I can set boundaries against their toxic behavior.
I have learned to show respect through curiosity. As an INFJ, I have a strong, natural tendency to criticize and judge. However, I also love to learn, and I can learn so much from those who so different from me. In addition to the phrases I listed above, I can say, “I’m curious about that – can you explain that to me?” This helps me understand things from different perspectives, even when I don’t agree.
This verse holds me accountable, even when discussions take a political turn:
Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king.
1 Peter 2:17 NLT
Who needs your respect this Christmas?
Empathy
I feel loved when others make an effort to understand me. I resent being looked down upon just as much as being viewed as one who is up high on an untouchable pedestal. All of the gifts listed above need to be put into action first before empathy can really go into play.
When I’m speaking with someone younger than me, I try to remember what it was like to be that age. If I’m interacting with someone who has less money than I do, I intentionally remember times when I wasn’t as financially blessed. When I am listening to someone older and wiser than me, I try to empathize with the feelings common to all of us.
Empathy requires sensitivity, thoughtfulness and reflection. It doesn’t pretend to know it all. Empathy doesn’t look down upon someone, nor does it shrink down in shame. It reaches out a hand of compassion, saying, “I get you.” Empathy doesn’t say you’ve walked the exact same path, but it does say, “Your feelings are safe with me.”
I think empathy is one of the greatest gifts we can give others, especially if they are hurting. If you know someone who is grieving, lonely or stressed out this Christmas, empathy may be their favorite gift from you. It could open the door to a deeper relationship.
Empathy is one of the most comforting gifts Jesus gave to us, as shown in this verse:
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
Hebrews 4:15 NIV
Who needs your empathy this Christmas?
Grace
It’s inevitable that something will go wrong during our Christmas celebrations. The food might be too salty. The bathroom might not be perfectly clean. The children may be cranky. The gifts may be tacky. Someone might drink too much. Relatives may speak off the cuff, storm out of the house, or not show up at all.
We ALL need a little extra grace this year. We need it for ourselves, and we need to offer it to others. Most things that go wrong this year won’t matter next Christmas, or even a week afterward. We need to back up and look at the stressful, imperfect scenarios from God’s viewpoint. If they don’t really matter, surrender them over to him and let them go.
Even the bigger problems need an extra dose of grace. Christmas is often the time that bigger problems rise to the surface. Consider it a grace note from God that it’s time to deal with them. You may need to speak with a pastor or counselor, or have that difficult conversation you’ve been avoiding. That’s not necessarily a bad thing – but it will go better if you cover the situation with grace.
Meditate on this verse before Christmas, asking God to help you apply it to your specific situations:
Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.
Hebrews 12:15 NLT
Who needs your grace this Christmas?
Fun
Christmas is a time of whimsy, and it deserves to be celebrated with a spirit of childlike joy. It’s good to choose fun in this season to offset the heaviness many of us feel.
I was at a baby shower last weekend, and one simple element made the party much more fun. Every time the parents-to-be opened a package with a bear, a mystery gift got passed around the group. This kept us all engaged and made the party more enjoyable.
At other celebrations, we’ve enjoyed games like these to amp up the fun. My teens really like this kind of interaction, which lightens the mood among tense family members.
We also play different board games each year, including the ones in this list. They help us relax and enjoy each other’s company, even those of us who don’t know each other very well.
As a serious-minded person, I really need to remember to rejoice, enjoy life and put this verse into practice:
Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!
Romans 12:16 NLT
Who needs your sense of fun this Christmas?
What EVERYONE Wants for Christmas This Year – A Final Thought
I have learned that people are either “open” or “closed” by nature. This means that though EVERYONE needs every gift on this list, not everyone will accept these gifts if they are “closed.” However, I can offer these gifts according to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, especially the gifts of respect and kindness.
Know that even if you offer every person on your list these wonderful gifts, they may not be received well, and that’s not your fault. Your job is to give these gifts as God empowers and instructs you to do in your particular situations. He will grant you wisdom as you prayerfully prepare to serve.
There is no better time than the Christmas season to put this verse into practice:
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Romans 12:18 NIV
Think about practical ways you can put this verse into practice by offering these seven gifts this year. If you commit to pray this verse every day until Christmas, God will certainly show you exactly to whom you need to offer these gifts. He will also certainly bless you for offering them, giving you his priceless gifts of love, joy, peace and hope in return.
Seven of the most-wanted gifts on EVERYONE's Christmas list, even if they aren't written down. #inspiration #christmas #loveothers Click To TweetPrayer Requests
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What EVERYONE Wants for Christmas This Year
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