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Thursday, December 23, 2010

What she said

One of the customers that I occasionally wait on at the bank and I were talking about Christmas, and more specifically Christmas shopping the other day. I was bemoaning my lot of having made so many presents and still feeling like I needed to buy a ton of stuff to keep my children, friends and family happy when she made a statement that has haunted me for the days since.

"We only get three presents at my house" or words to that effect. "It was good enough for the baby Jesus, it is good enough for us."

Think about it for a minute.

Three presents.

Now admittedly, gold, frankincense and myrrh are not on my shopping list but if we think about the meanings of those gifts we today could have our own versions.

Gold* : something of worth, be it your time or a monetary value. A few years ago my kids would have classified the latest video game system as their gold.

Frankincense** : (I am taking BIG liberties here) something to make today sweeter. Be that a good book, favorite music or that warm cuddly sweater I have been knitting on.

Myrrh*** : (Even bigger liberties) something for tomorrow. That present that a year or ten years from now will still be in use or remembered.

Sometimes I feel that I get the same message over and over again, today not only was I thinking about what my customer said but I was reading something very similar on another knitting blog.

Hence the title : What she said.

Unlike the Yarn Harlot I will be back before Christmas with more FO posts!!

~M

*Gold is a precious metal and has monetary value. It represented Jesus' Kingship.
**Frankincense is another resin, an aromatic one, from the milky sap of the Boswellia Tree. it is used as perfume, incense and in aromatherapy today, and was used in religious rites in Jesus' time. This represented homage to God.
***Myrrh is a resin (dried sap) from the Myrrh tree. It is used in perfumes and incense. It was commonly used as an embalming ointment in Jesus' day. This was a startling gift for a young boy--it represented His death.




1 comment:

Amanda said...

I can relate to that. Some years ago my husband and I opted out of the whole christmas thing - no shopping and no stress. We spend time with friends and enjoy good food and wine and it more than enough :)