The Gift That Forever Changed My Perspective

                I carefully peeled the tape from each end of the package. In those days, especially pretty wrapping paper was preserved to be reused. That explained the care in unwrapping. As I opened the box, I experienced a first in my life.

                In front of me, in the sturdy, recycled box, a beautiful evening gown for my Barbie doll was nestled in the tissue paper. A beautiful creation of white lace with a gold-edged lace rose accentuating the bodice stunned me. The gown was styled with the empire bodice that was the rage during that era of the 1960s. As I fingered the small creation, I could tell the underlay for the gown was of white muslin. Immediately, I knew this entire doll gown was handcrafted of scraps from the lace box and extra muslin from Grandma’s scraps of fabric. Even though the gift tag indicated it was from Grandpa and Grandma Smith, I knew she had made this gorgeous gift.

The doll dress that my grandmother, Gladys Rainey Smith
created for my sister's doll for Christmas.

                Grandma’s overwhelming success at surprising my sister and me astounded me. We were around the house most of the time other than our daily attendance in school. We never tried to snoop into our presents, but the two of us were perceptive to a fault about what the adults in our home were doing. Angie and I had not seen a pattern for doll clothing. Little did we know that Grandma had designed those dresses without a pattern, relying only on her uncanny designing talent and stitching wizardry.

                How had she managed time to sew these breath-taking creations for her two granddaughters’ dolls? December was a busy time for Grandma who seemed to delight in custom making our own Christmas dresses. She wanted us to have festive dresses for the Christmas program at church as well as the program at our school in Ralston. She stayed busy with Christmas baking, decorating around the house, and the everyday responsibilities on the farm. How baffling that she carved out time to fashion two miniature evening gowns for dolls that rivaled any doll outfits that we had longingly gazed at and wished for in the Christmas toy catalogs that year!

The vintage handcrafted evening ensemble for my doll.

                As I investigated further in the gift box from my grandparents, imagine the wide-eyed joyful response when I spotted a tiny red velvet jacket trimmed with glittery golden sequins. I recognized the red velvet as coming from the scraps of a Christmas dress she had sewn for my mother a previous year. Instantly, I knew Grandma had designed it to complete the evening gown ensemble. At that moment, no royal princesses living in opulent wealth could have been as happy as Angie and I were that Christmas Eve.

                That Christmas Eve marked the first time I vividly realized the time, effort, and love that was invested in gifts we received. From that Christmas forward, my gratefulness increased for each gift I received  - whether large or small. More importantly, after that gift created by Grandma, my focus shifted to recognize the thought that had been put into the gifts I received.

                In this era, when regifting is debated yearly, and over $44,000,000,000 of gift cards went unused in the United States from 2008 through 2013 (according to giftcardgranny.com), has gift giving lost its luster? Maybe every gift that is given this year will not rival the exquisite doll clothes made by our grandmother, but every gift recipient can take just a moment to contemplate the effort by the giver to give a welcomed gift. 

                My thoughts turned to the first and ultimate giver, God. His gift was planned from before the dawn of time according to I Peter 1:19-20. The costliness of the gift of His Son exceeded any Christmas gift ever given. When we receive the extravagant gift of His perfect Son, who came specifically to take our punishment, in exchange we are given a new beginning, even  though we are undeserving recipients of the life-changing gift of Jesus Himself. What a reason to celebrate!