A cookie in the parking lot..

I was juggling my little man from hip to hip, tossing our broccoli, milk and a few Christmas gifts on to the Target conveyor belt when she got in line behind me. Two swim suit wearing girls hung on the sides begging for pizza, 'Puhhleaaaseee, Mom!' and the baby in the cart was wailing loud as snot ran down his face. She looked tired, distracted; like she hadn't slept for a full night in a very.long.time.
Owen was quick to point out the 'BABYYYY' and I felt bad that he had drawn attention to the chaos erupting behind us. It wasn't that I passed any judgement, I quickly learned that lesson at the beginning of motherhood- I have no idea what that Mama may be facing or what kind of night she just survived. But I didn't exactly go out of my way to encourage her, either.
As we loaded our purchases into the truck and Owen hung on Kai's neck (even a short separation is too long for those two..) the window of the mini-van next to us slowly rolled down. It was the same family. The little girl looked up with big eyes, 'Is that your dog?' 'What's his name?' 'Is he friendly?' To which I replied, 'Yes', 'Kai' and 'Very friendly!' She grinned from ear to ear as she held up the tupperware and asked if we'd like a cookie. They were homemade, chocolate with red and green m&m's; the fall-apart-in-your-mouth kind! And the Mom looked right at me and wished us a good day and a Merry Christmas. That's when I saw something different in her eyes. The exhaustion remained but I saw joy, too. I caught a glimpse of her heart and it was beautiful. 
We all know that 'it's not about the presents' this time of year but I forget to live that out. In all the hustle and bustle and baking and wrapping, I know I haven't been making time to give away any melt-in-your-mouth goodness to complete strangers. And maybe parts of that woman's life are messy, she probably is distracted and worn out, but she took time to roll down her window and she encouraged her babies to GIVE. They were spreading joy, learning to be a blessing, and that's the most 'Christmasy' thing I saw all day. Just a cookie in the parking lot, but it made me think twice about where my priorities were at.
Then this morning I read Ephesians 5 and Paul starts right off by saying 'Follow God's example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. So if the 'reason for the season' truly is Jesus Christ and His gift to mankind was HIMSELF, then maybe our presence matters infinitely more than the presents. Jesus 'lived a life of love' and 'gave himself up for us' and now we are called to follow that example. Could it be that the sharing of our time, our energy, our fresh baked goods with people that can not repay us is the real secret to making the holidays memorable?
Derek and I have an incredible opportunity in front of us with our tiny son and the Christmases we will spend together. Of course the world will tell him it's about Santa, red-nosed reindeers and an endless list of toys, but we can instill in him a very different idea. If we use this time of year to bless the socks off others and make it exciting and fun, he will grow up wanting to continue that tradition! If we can actually show him, by our actions, that this time of year is not, as the commercials would have us believe, all about us... that truth will take root in his heart. If we can SLOW.DOWN from our mach speed pursuit of ensuring every detail is perfect and simply sit with him and talk about that baby in the manger, he will learn the deeper meaning of what a gift truly is!

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

[Isaiah 9:6]