Yule Never Walk AloneSample

Secret Santa

I chuckled when I overheard a conversation at work this morning. Someone said: “I’m not being miserable but I’m removing myself from our team’s secret Santa. I’m sick of getting rubbish gifts – I’m bored of toiletry sets – and chocolates are just a cop out.” Although I love the Secret Santa game, I think she makes a fair point. Secret Santa often becomes an opportunity to recycle gifts – where we inflict our unwanted gifts on others, knowing that we remain unidentified as the giver of tatt!

Fortunately, when God gives us gifts and talents it’s entirely different to the way most of us approach the Secret Santa game. God does not recycle gifts – it’s not a slap-dash, grab something from the unwanted gift drawer situation. God designs each person with great thought and detail as a bespoke individual.

I remember catching a friend out on the recycling gifts front one year! She gave me a gift and hadn’t realised that on the box there was a “to and from” section which another friend of ours had filled in with her name on! The gift was not meant for me, it did not have my name on it. (But it was a chocolate gift so I gladly scoffed the lot!)

The gifts that God graciously gives us do have our names written all over them. There is real intent, planning and thought in God’s gift list. He delights in gifting us with different skills that we can use to help others and to bring glory to him.

I have often wished that God had given me different gifts – I’ve longed to be more intelligent, practical and outgoing. More recently, instead of wishing I was more of a social butterfly, I’m embracing the fact that God has made me a more reflective person (and I’m unapologetic that I like being in my pj’s by 5pm and in bed by 9pm!). God wasn’t short of an extrovert gift in his drawer so therefore I missed out, I’m created in exactly the way he intended.

As you give out your (hopefully not recycled – but we’ve all done it!) gifts this Christmas, remember that God has given you a unique gift set. Be determined to use every gift to glorify God and bless others.

Reflection

List the gifts you believe God has given to you. Are you using them? How could you develop them and use them even more effectively?

(Note – this 5 day devotional contains excerpts from the full version of my book “Yule Never Walk Alone – 25 Festive Reflections.” If you enjoy this plan then please do check it out on Amazon.)