What a Gift!

One Christmas Eve some years ago, I sat under the tall, lighted tree at my parents’ house. The whole family had gathered for our tradition of opening presents—one at a time, from youngest to oldest.

The youngest was Julie, my niece. As she opened a My Twinn doll, she looked at it adoringly and then hugged it. We took a few pictures, and she contentedly cradled the doll as we moved to the next family member.

Her brother, Sam, opened a box of LEGOs. “Oh, little LEGOs!” he shouted. “Thank you!” Running to an open area on the carpet, he dumped the box out and began to assemble the set and play with it.

After we’d gone around the circle a few times, I began to notice a pattern in reactions. Julie lined up her gifts and admired them. Sam paused to play with each one. Doug, my brother-in-law, put all his gifts to immediate use; soon, he was wearing two pairs of socks, a new belt, a hat, and a new flannel shirt, while reading a humor book he’d received.

But my German grandma—the oldest—was the most fun. She had just turned ninety-four, and after opening each gift, she’d exclaim, “Ach, I’ve never seen anything like it!” or, “Ach du liebe Zeit [Dear me]! I’ve never seen anything so nice in all my life!”

We found that a little hard to believe, considering that she’d lived so long and traveled extensively. But it sure made us gift-givers feel good.

That was my grandma’s last Christmas on earth. But I can’t wait to hear her say those words again—and this time I’ll know they will be absolutely true: “Ach du liebe Zeit [Dear me]! I’ve never seen anything like heaven! I’ve never seen anything so nice in all my life!”

I’m so grateful that Jesus came the first time—and I’m even more grateful that He’s coming back—for Grandma and the rest of us.

Lori Peckham