25 Prayers of Christmas, Day 8

When you are a kid you don't realize that there are different ways to "do" Christmas. It's not until you get older and spend time with friends or in-laws or coworkers that you experience "other" traditions.

For example, in my family we always opened gifts one at a time. It took all day! And everyone watched you open your gifts. I love this tradition. It shows the importance of each and every gift. And each and every giver.

I think it also helped us become gracious receivers. When all eyes are on you, you have to be excited for every gift. We were never told to "fake it" if we got something we didn't like. We learned how to genuinely love each and every gift because of the time, the thought, the money, the sacrifice, and the heart behind the gift.

It seems only natural that as I got older I would come to love giving gifts as much as receiving them. Being creative and thinking about what would bring joy to someone's heart, and then seeing that joy on that someone else's face as they unwrap what you put thought and time and energy and money and heart into was the greatest reward. Whether a poem I wrote for my grandfather or a music box my brothers and I pitched in to buy for our mother, every gift was received as the greatest gift.

As I got older and experienced other traditions -- like those who open all gifts all at once and Christmas is over in 15 minutes -- I also encountered people who are less than gracious receivers. And I'll admit, it has rubbed off on me at times. Instead of being thankful for those pajama pants, I wondered: did you put any thought into this at all, or were they just on sale on Black Friday? Instead of feeling delightfully spoiled by a pair of diamond earrings, I wondered: how long will it take you to pay off our joint credit card bill?

It also makes buying gifts less fun, when excitement over buying thoughtful gifts turns into worry that they won't be well received. The kid who you can never seem to buy the right color gift for; the adult who claims they will love anything but whose face on Christmas morning always says otherwise.

My prayer this Christmas is that we would all be gracious receivers, that our first reaction would always be delight, regardless of whether or not anyone is watching.