Re-Gifting

Have you ever re-gifted?  I'm sure most of us have.  Why do we do it?  This is a question I asked the ladies at the Progressive Dinner last night.  I loved their answers.

• They thought someone else might enjoy it more.
• They looked at the gift and thought, "This person doesn't even know me!"
• To save money.
• Because they really didn't like the gift.

But on the other hand....have you ever given someone a gift and watched the face of the recipient as a look of disinterest came over them and they buried the gift under a pile of torn gift wrappings?  You knew it was a fail.

Well, last night, I gave Jessica a gift.  It was very compact in a small bag.  I had her look in it first without taking it out to see if she liked it.  Her comment was, "It looks like a Christmas gift."  And then she took it out.  She was speechless.  It looked something like this:

She haltingly said, "I guess it could be a makeup bag?"  Of course, everyone was laughing.  Not quite a gift for a grown woman.  But then I explained to her that it was a purse for a little girl.  I had gotten it when I was in China and carried it home and kept it for a special little girl.  Jessica has an adorable little girl named Karoline.  The fish purse was for her.  I thought she'd have fun playing with it.  It took on a whole new meaning after I explained it.

God has given us many gifts.  How many have we tried to re-gift?  How many did we look at in the bag and not even pull out?  Are we like the person who buries the gift under a pile of trash?  And sometimes....like I did with Jessica, it takes an explanation by the gift-giver to understand the gift and its purpose.  And once we do, it becomes something special...even prized!

I hope this Christmas season you'll strive to be a gracious receiver.  Realize each gift you receive was given out of a heart of love.  It may not be your taste, but it's special and meaningful to the one giving it.  But more than that, I hope you'll take those gifts out of the box which God has given you.  Let Him explain the gift, its purpose, its uniqueness just for you.  That's what I've been doing this season.  Looking at the gifts God has given me in a new way and listening to the Giver's explanation.  

God's gifts are priceless because they're uniquely designed for each recipient.  They're too valuable to re-gift.