What
Can I Give Him as Poor as I Am?
Remember
this popular Christian poem that is often
recited during the holiday season?
- "What
can I give Him as poor as I am,
- If
I were a shepherd, I'd give him a lamb.
- If
I were a wise man, I'd do my part,
- What
would I give Him? I'd give Him my heart."
During
this day and age amid the bustling World
of Retail, we've been trained to believe
that a good gift is an expensive gift.
So
many times, I've been out holiday shopping
and have overheard a shopper whisper to
another, "What can I buy for 'real
cheap' that looks like it cost a lot?"
Of
course, I silently chuckle and move on,
but the point is that many people feel this
way. I remember at one low point in my life,
I had two bosses that were exceedingly stressful
to work for. When the holidays arrived,
I had very little money to spend on my family.
My female boss insisted that I accompany
her and another lady of the company Christmas
shopping. So I did, begrudgingly. Once we
arrived at the Mall, the female boss spied
an expensive item and suggested that I purchase
it for my other boss, who was a male. It
was very stressful - and a situation that
I wouldn't even think about landing into
today. But then again, I am much older,
and much wiser.
Nonetheless,
I swallowed my tongue and purchased the
gift - my family suffering for such. And
at the holiday party, I opened the gift
that my male boss had for me to find a used
VCR tape of 'It's a Wonderful Life'. Quite
funny, now that I think back on that moment.
If
I'd been like the person in the poem above,
I would have been very smart. Although gift
giving is part of the holiday season, we
don't always need to purchase a gift. A
homemade gift is not only budget-friendly,
it's a gift from the heart. I am certain
that my former boss would have been much
happier with a batch of homemade chocolate
chip cookies than the expensive trinket
I gave him which probably ended up in the
trash over the years.
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