Here is something really funny happening in our lives right now. My sweet wife is a saint and had she not gotten me pregnant, I’m sure she’d be a nun right now.
So a couple weeks ago we received a catalog from Compassion about Christmas gifts you can give to the poor. Like, for $25 you can give a family this structure that lets them hold 200 gallons of water and provides them fresh water. Or for $75 you can buy a family a goat. You get the idea.
So you buy whatever things you want and you can put it in people’s names. So for xmas, I would get a card that says, “instead of buying you a present, I bought worms vaccinations for 50 children in
Again, my wife is a saint. She is getting a book published and when she received her first check from the publisher for $2,700 she immediately sent a check for $500 to the poor. So she is pretty intense, etc.
So her parents call her and say, “What do you want for Christmas?” Jen spends a day thinking about it and can’t think of anything. So she finally goes, “You know what I want? I don’t need anything. I want you to take whatever you were going to spend on me, and buy me stuff from this catalog. That would be the best present.” And then her mom says, “What can I get Charis?” Again, Jen is like, “You know, Charis doesn’t need anything either. But if you are going to buy her something, buy her $1 coloring book, cause she would love that. If that’s not enough, buy her a warm coat and donate it to a child in need.”
Nevertheless, this is not going over so well. Jen’s dad is like, “Just do what your daughter wants.” But mom is still not ready. She really wants to buy Jen something.
So she emailed me yesterday saying what should I get her.
I emailed her back with a bunch of sweet ideas.
I told Jen about it and she sent the following email to her mom:
ken told me you asked him for more ideas for me...
I am not kidding. I really do not need anything. What is worse is that he said he gave you some good ideas. There is nothing you can get me that is more important than showing me what went to these children and families instead of me. Honest.
Love you,
Jen
So Mom emailed me going, “What do I do now?”
I talked to Jen for 45 minutes and then sent her mom this email:
Ah…your daughter…sigh…she is serious. She did not tell me the same thing because I had already bought her presents before she came up with this clever idea.
Alas, she is steadfast.
Really.
Nevertheless, this IS her Christmas wish.
I think she’s going to send you an email letting you off the hook, but really, this is what she wants and this is what would make her so happy. Even if it means that the rest of us feel like idiots because we were pretty pumped about receiving gifts.
Good luck!
So who knows what will happen now, but it all is cracking me up. On the one hand, this is why I love Jen so much. She really is the most Christ-like person I know. She is gentle, humble, patient, and so kind. She doesn’t force her beliefs on others. She just loves.
But I can’t help all the comedic happenings that are going to go on with us all receiving presents and everyone going from, “Ooh, this Christmas has really rocked. I’ve gotten some sweet stuff!” to “Ah shit, I feel like a dumbass because I didn’t ask for little hungry children to be fed with the money that was spent on my worthless gifts.”
And here I am, standing on the fence between…loving my wife, being awed and inspired by her, and totally understanding where she is coming from…all the while also lathering myself up with the materialistic desires bred by this Holiday Season…and just enjoying the preshow that is taking place before we head up to Christmas.
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