As we piled into the car to make the short drive over to my grandparent’s house today, my little brother Adam pulled out this absolutely huge box and stuffed it into our minivan. None of us had any idea what the gift was or who it was for, but we decided not to ask too many questions.
We ate breakfast, took family pictures, and opened all of our other beautifully wrapped and carefully chosen presents. Our curiosity was building as my younger cousins begged Adam for a chance to open the mysterious box. Adam told us that the gift was for everyone and that he would explain once it had been opened. My cousins tore into the wrapping paper and pulled a poem mounted to a piece of cardboard from out of the newspapers and wrapping that filled the gigantic box.
Here is the poem that he pulled from the box. This was written by my 13 year old brother, Adam Gagliardo.
I bet you were expecting a big gift here
But let me tell you, your brain may need to shift gear
We already have the biggest gift of all
And I know for sure it didn’t come from the mall
The gift came a long time ago
When God gave Jesus a place to go
He said, “Go to that place way down there
And show the people, love is to share.”
You can’t put a price on a gift from the heart
To calculate that not even a super-computer could start
Christmas shouldn’t be a competition
Rather, it should be addition
Adding up all the people you can bless
So many that the number becomes only a guess
Now if you have missed everything else, don’t miss this;
You can’t buy a Merry Christmas.
Giving the best gift has already been done
It happened when God sent His Son.
Merry Christmas everyone! I pray that you all had a blessed day and encourage you to take a minute to reflect on the greatest gift that we’ve ever been given. Immanuel, God with us, is a gift that deserves celebrating every single day of the year. God loves us so much that He is willing to meet us right where we are, in the humanity and mess of our lives. And that’s pretty amazing.
