Presence versus Presents

The best gift of this holiday season is to spend time with the one you love.  I know we all go an extra mile this season and use money to buy gifts but nothing beats spending quality time with those dear ones.

*

My childhood memories of this holiday season entails more of the things we did together as a family not necessarily the gifts I got. The tradition or let me call it the family norm of Maina’s Family was to receive a new outfit every Christmas. There was no feigning surprise or checking under a tree, to see if Santa brought you something.  We knew the truth,  Mum and Dad went shopping on Christmas eve and got the six of us what would be our next Sunday best for a whole year. Considering,  the weight of matter, the choice was not easily made and so they would spend hours shopping.  Looking back at how precise and accurate they were, I feel greatly indebted to them. On Christmas morning we would all dress up and attend the Christmas service.  I  loved Christmas service because it was the only service in a year we got driven to church as a family.  All the other sundays we got up and walked to church for either Sunday school or those teens service and mum and Dad would drive to church later for second service with the baby. But Christmas Service was no separation it was a family service.

Now you know why at Glorious Power Church we do not hold sunday school or Tweens and Teens on Sundays but on Saturdays, so that no child will feel what we felt on Sundays. To me Sundays are family Days.

From the service things just got better,  mum and dad allowed us to participate in the cooking and Christmas was always the day we ate more than we needed. From the era of record player to cassette player music and dance always crowned the day.

To the Maina’s Family it was not about the gifts it was always about having time together as a family.  Last year I  shared with you a tradition that mum introduced later on when God continued to bless us.

https://pastorlucypaynter.com/2019/12/25/christmas-traditions/

We learn from our parents mostly through observation and just like the other tradition we borrowed, we can borrow this one too.

During my years of youth and Teens ministry, the words used as the title of this article have been said more times as a form of a complaint. As a parent I understand we may not be able to be there 24/7 for the children but just like my parents did we can create special memories where they have our undivided attention.

As we give gifts let’s add time to the receiver. The gift of time is not only wonderful to children but to all people, your spouse, your friends, relatives, neighbors.

Merry Christmas and Remember to give not only gifts but Time.