When I was a little girl, going to our grandparents’ house meant we were about to be spoiled! I can still remember being really little, and our grandparents would meet us out on their porch, so excited to see us. My precious grandmother would take my little hand and lead me to her kitchen. There she would open the yellow or orange Tupperware container filled with her M&M cookies. And she would smile so big and say, “Go ahead! Take one!”
I miss her so much. Her sweet smile just exuded Jesus to everyone. I don’t think that precious lady ever had an enemy.
Anyway, to this day when I look at M&M’s, I am always reminded of Grandmother’s cookies. She knew they were my favorites, and she always made them for my brother and me.
Grandparents are just so special and sweet. They get to spoil their grandchildren and not worry about anything except loving them. It is a lot like Christmas, when you think about it. All of your favorite things; the lights, the smells, the joyous feelings … the gift of giving. When I look back to our childhood, my brother and I had a teeny, tiny glimpse into Heaven.
Our grandparents were not wealthy. Far from it. But I never realized this until I was grown. You see, we always had more than enough. The best meals, clean water for baths and showers, clean clothes, clean beds to sleep … and so much laughter and love.
“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' " - Acts 20:35 (NIV)
Our grandparents worked hard and loved us so well. Like I said, it wasn’t until I was in high school when I realized they weren’t wealthy or “well-to-do.” But anytime my friends were around, they thought my brother and I hit the jackpot when it came to family. There was always plenty of food, and then some. My grandmother would wrap up her biscuits for friends to take home. No one ever left their presence, empty handed.
My parents did the same thing and taught my brother and me through their actions, the importance of giving. Our sweet parents would give their last meal or last dollar away to someone in need with the mindset, “they need it more than we do.”
Our grandparents and parents all seemed to have their greatest smiles when they were giving to someone else. Those M&M cookies were an early lesson for me to understand the joy in giving.
This week, as we give presents, we need to be present. More importantly, we need to receive the blessings from Papa through giving. Christmas is such a beautiful time for us to be reminded of this, but if we are in living in joy, we are giving more naturally because we want to be the face of Jesus. We are giving because we want to be blessed by giving, not to receive something in return. And let us remember, when we give, let’s do so, quietly and without fanfare. Only Papa needs to know.