In letters to friends, Jeanette Hardage thanked people for myriad gifts, but the ones that she seemed to cherish the most were gifts of hospitality, of ministry, and of self. Her poem below draws attention to the subject of gifts, and to the source of the most precious gift of all which we celebrate at Christmas. In her Faith and Other Matters anthology, she juxtaposes this poem with a reminder that “Every good and perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). This seems appropriate to ponder as another Christmas approaches.
Gifts
What will you give for Christmas?
Will a longed-for toy
be a source of joy?
God gave his son.What will you give for Christmas?
Perhaps a jeweled treasure
will bring a loved one pleasure.
God gave his son.What will you give for Christmas?
Something wooly and warm
may satisfy and charm.
God gave his son.What will you give for Christmas?
A satisfying start
would be to give your heart.
God gave his son.