'Tis Better to Give....

With the Christmas season in full swing, I've been finding myself getting caught up in all the crazy consumerism that has become Christmas these days. I'm finding myself impulsively buying and overspending on the latest and greatest toys for my toddler and preschooler in hopes of that "perfect" Christmas morning where they will rip open their gifts, find all that their little hearts desire, and throw themselves into my arms in pure gratitude for all that I had done for them.  Of course, that little fantasy fizzles when reality reminds me of the last two Christmases when they were more fascinated by the wrapping paper than they were the gifts, and any toy that interested them at all was quickly forgotten or quickly broken. 

But it hasn't been just me...I've been annoyed and irritated by two words I'm hearing more and more these days: "I want...".  "Mommy, I want this" or "Mommy, I want that" is spoken by Abby so many times a day that I've started to hear it in my sleep.  So, in an effort to remind my little girl what Christmas is really all about (and to clean out the playroom a bit too), I sat her down and talked to her about how blessed she is and how so many kids didn't have enough food to eat, let alone toys to play with.  We decided that it might be nice to give some of her toys to kids who didn't have any and I was going to let her pick which ones she'd like to give. 

I have to say, I was a bit shocked at how willing she was to give away her precious toys.  She started picking up some of her favorite toys and asking me, "You fink (think) they like this?" I started to tell her not to give the toys that she really liked, but then I stopped.  How much of a sacrifice would it be if she gave away the toys she didn't care about? How is it showing love to other people if you just got rid of your junk? So instead I just asked her to think carefully about what she was giving and made sure she understood that she wasn't getting them back.  She simply replied, "I fink they like this" and put it in the bag.  I was very proud of my little girl, but still a little concerned that she'd change her mind after it was too late and the toys were gone. 

Well, turns out I didn't have to worry.  While we were out running errands that day, Abby kept reminding me, "Mama, we give my toys to kids now?" over and over again.  When we finally got to the donation center, I checked with her one last time to make sure she was okay with giving her toys away.  She simply said, "Buh-bye toys!"

Since then, Abby has asked me several times, "You fink the kids like my toys?" I'm sure to tell her that I think she's made a lot of kids very happy...and she just smiles a great big smile.  There's a part of me that still thinks she may want those toys back one of these days, but for now I'll just be proud of my sweet little girl and I'll continue praying that in her heart continues to grow a love for other people and a desire to give.