Our youngest needed 4 new tires... badly! The tread was wearing thin and we knew he had to have them. We were also working on a pretty tight budget that year, actually a VERY tight budget.
He would already be getting much more than the others if we gave him the tires, and it was for sure he didn't have the money for them.
So I went to Michael's and bought a pack of 4 rubber tires for a car kit. I threaded them down in a row with a fancy gold cord and bow.
When Christmas Eve came, this was Tommy's gift... his ONLY gift! I sat on the floor with him behind me on the couch. This is a kid who doesn't just SIT and be quiet, even to this day. That night he was quiet, too quiet!
He opened his box, and got his 4 new tires. I have no idea what was under the tree for me or for the rest of us that night. I was fighting tears, I think we all were.
4 tires was a wonderful gift, but it sure wasn't the same as watching him tear open the wrapping paper and look with excitement at each new gift. There is nothing more wonderful than a parent sharing their children's joy.
I wonder how often Jesus is quiet as He watches us receive a gift directly from His heart into our lives, knowing it's the best thing for us at that time, yet feeling our pain when it hurts.
Tires may be a poor illustration, but that's what I'm thinking about on this December day.
11 comments:
wonderful illustration!!
Well I like the illustration very much. Sometimes Christmas is much more about what we need than what we want. It must have been a little painful for you as parents, too, knowing that you were giving him your very, very best and yet...
How can you forget a Christmas like that?
Love the comparison.
Thanks.
I wonder what your son would say about how he felt if you asked him about that particular gift. You may be surprised at his answer now that he grown up and wiser.
When we were quite young we had very little and we only got a small gift each. Christmas. We only expected one small gift each. Silently in my heart I thought that my parents loved my older sister more than me because they bought her a skinny blond doll and bought me a brunette. Feelings were never shared.
Years later I confessed to my older sister my feeling and surprisingly she felt the same way because she always got the blond and I always got the brunette.
She had blue eyes and I had brown eyes.
I haden't thought of this until you brought up the tire gift.
Thanks for your visit and comment.
JB
What a wonderful gift. Giving your son what he needed to remain safe and alive.
Soren Kirekeegaard, the Danish Christian philosopher, said, "Live can only be understood when looking back, but it has to be lived forwards."
I know some day I'll get the answer to all my whys. I just have live life forwards till then.
It's a great comparison!
One Christmas (I was probably 10ish) I opened all my presents a few days before Christmas without my mother knowing it. I was stealth about it; and wrapped them back up in perfect order.
Come Christmas I was miserable: Not only did I rush ahead & spoil my own surprise, I had deceived my mother into thinking I was actually surprised & grateful.
I think 4 tires are a fabulous gift!
Hugs to you Sonja.
I liked the illustration because it reminded me of how hard it was for us to even celebrate Christms without jobs when we moved out here. Our daughter was 16, driving and needed tools for her vehicle because it was so old. Not a fun gift for sure!
It is such fun to shop for little ones at Christmas. Although we won't be spending much money this year again, I've been creative in making some gifts. But I just had to find something special for little 7 month old Kenzie.
Love you,
Debbie
Actually, the tires are the PERFECT illustration. You nailed the lesson right on the head. They were costly and they were what he needed more than anything, a gift of great price, even though it doesn't necessarily look like that from worldly vision.
I like how you share stories and then take us all right back to God's heart and the comparison of it all. The four simple tires and God's gifts to us tie in perfectly. This story touched my heart in the midst of this season of giving. Thank you for sharing it, from your heart.
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