The Gift of Pure Joy

By

Desiree Future

On Black Friday, I found myself unintentionally shopping. I honestly couldn’t believe it myself.

This is one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Yet there I was with other bargain hunters shopping for Christmas gifts and other items.

As for how I got to be at the store on the craziest day of the year, well that’s a story. I needed a coffee grinder for my homemade breadcrumbs.

Placing an online order at about seven in the morning I expected it to be ready for pick up later in the afternoon. At which time the obscenely long lines would be gone.

Little did I know it would be ready by seven-thirty am. After having to go out anyway to get ingredients for the gluten-free chocolate chip cookies I was making, I decided to go get my order. Knowing the parking lot would be jam-packed, I braced myself for the worst.

Then something oddly strange happened, there were so many empty parking spaces. Not sure if the store was closed so I slowly walked to the automatic door.

Surprisingly it opened and the store didn’t look like a daycare center at playtime with toys strewn everywhere and people fighting over them.

When my son was little, I was one of the people camped out at the store at three in the morning in search of the perfect gift. As a single mom, the amazingly low prices were something I just couldn’t pass up. That is until online shopping took over and I could shop from the comfort of my home in my pajamas.

With the prices as high as they are today, I guess a lot of people simply were not shopping. Just the other day I spent thirty-eight dollars on nine things. These insanely high prices are ridiculous.

I planned to go to two stores only. One to pick up my online order and two to get my gluten-free flour while it was on sale for my cookies. Nothing more, nothing less.

An empty parking lot, empty store plus sales meant I could buy my Christmas gifts earlier than expected. Well, my plan went out of the window. Finding several items from my mental list, I crossed them off. Though, I didn’t find the black jeans I wanted for myself.

Getting to the grocery store, I purchased my flour and a few other things on sale. Across the lot was a store where I could check for my jeans. Not only did I find what I was looking for but I also found other Christmas gifts at extremely discounted prices.

Upon returning home from my two stores that turned into four, I was super excited that I had finished my holiday shopping in one day. Separating the items, I smiled knowing their recipients would love them. I selected each item according to the person’s style. Laid out were four different piles of gifts.

The empty bag lay on the floor while the items were on my bed. I looked at the bag and then looked at the gifts. I did this several times until I realized something.

I give presents to people that I regard as being special to me. Special enough for me to give them a token of my appreciation. Whether it’s a greeting card, delicious food, a handmade gift, or a nice warm scarf, I give because these people make me happy.

They are there for me as well as I am there for them. We laugh until we cry and cry until we laugh. And of course, the shenanigans that I get into with my inner circle are epic, believe me.

The next time you’re out buying things for your loved ones think of what they mean to you. Add love to the bag, add laughter, add happiness, add some craziness, and then you have filled your bag with the gift of joy.

But wait, you may ask yourself “What do I do if I have no one to buy for?” The answer is you get a bigger bag and start filling it with things for yourself. A huge amount of self-love, smiles in the mirror every day, doses of self-confidence, and most importantly finding things or people that make you happy.

If no one has ever you told, then let me be the first. You are more than enough. You deserve to be happy so hold your head up high and go shopping for joy.

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.