What to buy for our family?
Something that said, “We love you, we value you, we’re glad we’re family!”
Complicating Factor Number One: Our loved ones were spread across the country, and we had no idea what special gift to give, that wouldn't already be sitting in their well-stocked home. Was there really anything they might like, or need, or want that we could guess correctly and afford, too?
To buy something just to… buy something, seemed such a waste of our never-quite-enough resources and such a slap in the face of the One whose birthday this was, after all.
In the mail came a catalogue full of inexpensive gifts –simply rich in meaning and life potential for the recipients whose needs were too many to count.
What to do?
Complicating Factor Number Two: We were not on the same wavelength with regards to faith- would this convince them that we really were from another planet??
Complicating Factor Number Two: We were not on the same wavelength with regards to faith- would this convince them that we really were from another planet??
A dare, a risky move because we couldn’t bring ourselves to do any less.
Each family received a card saying,
“Because we love you, we’ve given a gift of ____ in your honour.”
The response?
- Tears.
- Gratitude.
- Wonder.
- A new tradition that was carried on with all sorts of twists and turns, creatively trying to outdo each other.
This Christmas, don’t just give a gift.
Give a gift that’s desperately needed and makes a difference.
In case you need some help -
Welcome Home has an Online Christmas Catalogue, $10-$50 gifts that will mean the world to newly arrived refugees.
Welcome Home has an Online Christmas Catalogue, $10-$50 gifts that will mean the world to newly arrived refugees.
Go ahead, I dare you!