Picture that gift that you’ve really been wanting for Christmas this year. That one thing you’ve been eyeing and hoping to find wrapped on Christmas morning. Now try really hard to be honest with yourself and ask yourself why it is you want it. Maybe it could make your life a bit easier, make you look a bit cooler, or make you feel a bit more special. More often than not, those things we think we so desperately need aren’t actually needed at all.
The same goes for our children. Toy after toy after toy that they absolutely think they can’t live without, can in fact very easily be lived without. In fact, they probably would be better off without most of those toys they want so badly. It is probably easy to admit that most of the toys that just had to be had only last for so long before they break, get lost, or go out of trend. Kids don’t really want toys anyway! What they really want is much deeper. If we knew how true this really was, we would be able to use all that time & money we spend shopping for toys on the things or moments that really matter. It makes sense, but that this is easier said than done!
The real desires of our hearts cannot be bought with toys. It is what the toys represent that we crave so much. What if this Christmas we asked our child what their favorite thing to do was, or their favorite meal or their favorite project they would like to work on? What if they have a hobby yet to be discovered or something they’ve really been wanting to do with YOU. Would you venture to say that if your child was given the choice between a special one-on-one day with someone they love to do things that they love together and that toy that is #1 on their Christmas list, that they would choose that one special day? It’s worth a shot. What if instead of that video game to add to the collection, you offered them the opportunity to try something new. They may gripe and resist at first, but we know that what we all really want is to find joy, and most likely the joy that toys bring is very time limited and temporary. So let’s get creative this Christmas and find ways to bring more joy and more lasting than a toy ever can for our children. Let’s use our time and effort as a gift to bring our kids what we know they really want for Christmas!
