Re-Gifting

It’s Christmas Eve.

The gifts have already started showing up at my house.

I’m grateful.

Extremely.

Some of them I even bought for myself.

No surprise there.

I’m grateful for those, too.

I try to choose the perfect gifts for everyone.

And if I miss the mark, I take comfort in this: every gift can have a lovely second life.

If someone doesn’t need what I give, I want them to re-gift it with reckless abandon.

Most of the time, people give to someone they love or appreciate, right?

If something I give ends up in the hands of their sister, their neighbor, their coworker who’s having a rough year, who am I to complain?

And if it ends up with the UPS driver, I kind of hope it does.

Maybe they were going to be forgotten this year.

Maybe my gift, by way of somebody else, makes them feel seen.

It might end up donated, too.

A thrift shelf. A church sale. A Habitat store.

So, what?

That means it kept traveling until it found the right hands.

That means it still did its job.

Somewhere along the way, I learned to give without expectation.

It does not have to be displayed.

It does not have to be praised.

It does not have to be returned.

It does not even have to be kept.

Not for a year.

Not for a day.

And giving anonymously, that’s the best kind of giving.

I picture a waitress using a little cash for gas.

Or a gift card becomes the Christmas ham someone really wanted on the table.

Or a financially stressed mom being able to say, “Yes,” to the toy their child asked for.

Better yet, maybe the recipient hands my gift to someone they believe needs it more.

Paying it forward is the ultimate re-gift.

Honestly, the thought of that makes me want to do a tiny fist bump into the air.

And as always, that kind of unexpected joy leads me to gratitude, then straight to Him.

Tonight, I’m raising a quiet toast to the birthday Boy, the Giver of every good thing.

And I’m asking Him to do what He always does, take what we offer, even the small stuff, and multiply it into grace.

Let my gifts travel until they reach the right hands.

Let them become provision, comfort, and joy.

And if they are re-gifted, let that be part of the miracle, love finding its way home.

Merry Christmas to all!