Gifts of the Magi

For Christmas, Eric and I have a tradition we began three years ago with our children. This year that they are now old enough to actually begin to understand the meanings behind our gift giving, we have begun to explain why we have our tradition. It is simple. To avoid the delima every year on how much to give our children with each year trying to compete with the last Eric and I decided to seek the Bible for words of wisdom. In looking at the the Matthew account of Jesus' birth -- we see that the Magi have been searching for Him.

I read an wonderful account of the Magi and explanation of their gifts online the other day, Let me share it with you.

"Undaunted, those magi believed the Scriptures. They had traveled several hundred miles to worship Jesus. They had been guided by God’s Shekinah light (the star that moved), and by His Scriptures—to find baby Jesus in Bethlehem. The Wisemen may have been part of the men instructed by Daniel the prophet about the coming Messiah. So when at last they saw the child, they fell down and worshiped Him. He was God in the flesh. Worship was all they could do.
In their worship they gave Him gifts--gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These were unusual presents--by any standards. The gold, of course, we all can understand--but the frankincense and myrrh are not normal gifts. We can surmise that these Wisemen had also been exposed to Isaiah's prophecy which foretold that "nations will come to your light, and kings to your rising . . . They will bring gold and frankincense, and will bear good news. . . ." (Isaiah 60:3, 6) Knowing of that Scripture could explain the first two gifts and their worship--but not the myrrh.
In the world of the Bible, myrrh was a perfume, like frankincense. But unlike frankincense, myrrh always seemed to smell like death. It was the embalmers choice for preparing a corpse for burial. Jesus himself would be embalmed with this very perfume in John 19:39. Could the magi be thinking of Jesus' death when they brought the myrrh? Yes, it is very likely that the great and revered Daniel of Babylon had taught his prophecy of Christ's coming to the forefathers of these magi (Wisemen). Over the centuries the truths of Daniel's prophecy (9:24-27) were read and passed down, that the "Messiah will be cut off" and this "will make atonement for iniquity" and ultimately "bring in everlasting righteousness." So this may be how God led those Wisemen to bring that third gift. Amazingly, even at Christ's birth, the shadow of the cross is already falling over His life.

This reminds me of a famous painting by the artist Holman Hunt—showing how Jesus came into the world to die. In this painting called The Shadow of Death.
I love this painting because it shows the whole of Jesus’s life in one image – his birth, his life and his death.


"The scene shows Jesus and his mother Mary in his father’s carpenters’ shop. We see Mary searching through the trunk for something amongst the gifts from the Three Kings, we see Jesus, as a young man, stretching his arms after using the saw in the foreground and in the background, we see the shadow cast by Jesus on the wall foretelling his crucifixion.
"We do not see Mary’s face but can imagine her fear, as she sees the shadow on the wall. The painting is unusual, as it shows Jesus as a working man in an ordinary setting. It shows the love between a mother and her child, which again is universal."

Back to our family tradition: knowing that our Lord received three gifts at his birthday celebration, we realized those three gifts would be perfect to receive for our children as well. No, not the actual Gold, frankincense, and myrrh - but gifts that would represent each of those in our child' s life. For the Gold gift, we give our kids an extravagant gift that they have wanted for some time. Something that we wouldn't normally be able to purchase or make for them during the rest of the year. For this Christmas, Mackenzie has been asking for the Rose Petal Cottage for at least 6 months, so we saved and was able to purchase this for her ---(shhhh..it is still a secret). For Cooper this year, he has been wanting a battery operated motorcycle that he can ride on -- now this is still too extravagant for our budget -- so we had him talked down to a new bike--a new Spiderman bike to be exact! For the Frankincense gift, we purchase a gift that represents their spiritual or natural gifts given to them for Jesus --something we can help promote in their character and help others sense the frangrance of Christ in them. For Mackenzie, she has shown a nurturing/mothering/hospitality side in the last several years --so we were able to get her the nursery (cradle and changing table) for her new rose petal cottage. For Cooper, he has been developing his love for music this year, so we decided to get him his favorite singer's new CD (Toby Mack's "I don't wanna loose my soul") and a durable CD player/karaoke machine. Then, lastly, we turn to the Myrrh gift. Eric and I then purchase gifts for them that are on the practical side, as the Myrrh was used for practical and medicinal purposes. This year, Mackenzie has developed a huge love for arts and crafts and so mommy has depleted her supply at the house --thus we need to get her more arts and crafts supplies -- we will put in a large tub for her quite a few items that will help her do her art as well as an easel for a stationary place to complete it on. For Cooper, we have purchased a basketball goal (and Nerf ball) for in the house to let him get his exercise without making mommy stay out in the cold all day!

Thus, the three gifts for our children - and not going overboard on the budget! I will say that Santa does bring one smaller gift that they will love -- but it is not bigger or more significant that the Gold gift, frankincense gift or the Myrrh gift. Mackenzie will have a stocking this year with a new ornament, small art stuffs, toothbrush, toothpaste and a my little pony plush she wanted. --Cooper will be getting in his stocking a new ornament, guitar pics and strings for his guitar, toothbrush, toothpaste and a small electric drum pad that he asked Santa to bring.

I hope this wasn't too much info for you -- but just wanted so share our family tradition of celebrating the birth of our Lord --and how we keep from getting wrapped up in the material shopping craze and keep our focus on Jesus--especially during the financial delima our country is facing. I trust that you will have a Very Merry Christmas!

Answered Prayer

From the time Eric and I moved back to the States from Canada, we became fully aware of how Eric's brother's health had become to deteriorate even faster than before. With every visit, we have seen him continue to struggle with his balance, speech and thinking. With these difficulties, Bruce has been unable to care for even the basic maintaining of his home. The worst of all rooms in need of desperate repair was the bathroom. It was unlivable. My daughter, Mackenzie, in our visits to Uncle Bruce, would refuse to use the restroom until we left and returned home. It was falling apart, dirty and should have been condemned. Just to help you with the image, here are a few photos.

UNLIVABLE BATHROOM

Yes, his walls were wet and molded and falling into his bathtub-- where he was still showering. His floor was very old and dirty from years of backup. And the walls around the room were all caving in. He also had a large mirror that could have been very dangerous if he had fallen. The size of the tub, entering and exiting also was a large issue. He is unable to lift his leg up and still balance that far off the ground, and thus he fell several times. If he would have ever fallen into the glass -- we hate to even think of what could have happened. Being on disability, Bruce had a limited income, and the family had done all it could do to help him stay in his home, keep him fed and clothed let alone help with with minor repairs to his house. However, none of us could help with the large expense of a bathroom remodel. Thus the praying began. Eric and I continued to pray for an answer to this delima for several months. Upon moving to the Winchester area, now 8 minutes from Bruce rather than the 30, we were able to assess the situation even more closely. Then the Lord asked me to begin to contact local resources for assistance. Upon doing this, those that I contacted either failed to respond or took several months to even acknowledge my emails. Thus, I began to just "vent" some of my frustrations to a few close friends and asked them to begin to pray with us.

To make a very long story short -- our answer to prayer came when one of our friends told us that he had contacted his church pastor, showed him these photos ---and the church wanted to give Bruce a new bathroom for Christmas! The Lord indeed still does miracles today, and He used these very caring, loving and hard working men and women to carry out his miracle! In a very short time of two weeks, from beginning to end, with actual four days of work -- a new bathroom was constructed! Take a look at the bathroom now!

BATHROOM RENOVATION

During this Christmas season, I know one thing for Sure. I serve a risen Savior who is still in the business of accomplishing miracles. I would like to thank all of those who had a hand in this project (you know who you are) but most of them wanted me not to mention their names. I thank God for His body of believers who accept His challenge daily ---"as you do unto the least of these, you do unto me". Thank you God for your gift of Jesus and His body, the church, this Christmas season!