Socks for Christmas

I was raised by a village. My mom and dad both come from large families. They both had double digit siblings and all of them had a hand in my upbringing. To varying degrees each family member took interest in my well being. That is a gift that I really didn’t fully appreciate growing up but am now learning to give it’s proper value.

I’ve been blessed to have aunts and uncles who made sure my brothers and I never went without. When you are a kid you have a different perspective about gifts. Now I appreciate the clothes they bought me. When I was a kid not so much. As mentioned previously, I had a large family so my grandparents had a lot of Christmas to buy. They always attempted to have us all a little something to open. My Grandmother on my dad’s side for several years bought her grand boys a pair of socks a piece. As you can imagine that was not an exciting idea for most of us. Now thankfully for the most part we knew better than to let on that we were disappointed. Maybe to begin with it was a fear of my parents’ wrath but it eventually became my respect for my grandmother’s attempt. When I turned 18 and moved off to Freed-Hardeman University my appreciation for my grandmother’s gift multiplied exponentially. I looked forward to the holiday as my old worn out socks were down to their last thread. As a college student I was strapped for cash so anything I didn’t have to buy was a wonderful gift.

A change in perspective is gradual and sometimes just downright slow. I remember when the phrase “slow as Christmas” seemed accurate with what it meant. Growing up that month between Thanksgiving and Christmas seemed like an eternity. Now it is gone before you know it. My prayer is that my heart is soft and a little more apt to change as quickly as that month passes. One of the many gifts God gives man through Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit is more of his perspective. The Brandon Heath song “Give Me Your Eyes” is a great tune that explains his desire for a godly worldview. He wants God’s love for humanity to be displayed in his actions. God will help us to value what he values if we will merely ask and accept his guidance.

We are easily distracted as humans. We get focused on all kinds of things that don’t matter in the long run. Unfortunately as humans the saying “You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone" rings true in many areas of life. At one point in my life getting socks was a disappointment. Later they were a welcome blessing. Now it’s not even about the socks but the person who gave them. The true gift was getting to hug my grandmother. A gift I hope to receive again one day.

Travis