Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh

Last year while having a discussion with my friend, Mel, aka Wonder Woman and Psycho with 6, I was inspired to change our families gift giving traditions dramatically. Whoa you say! How in the world do you change 20+ years of tradition without a major family meltdown. Well, it helped that the children are grown, and the grandchildren just arriving. It seemed to be the perfect season for change, and now in it's second year we have embraced it with enthusiasm.

Our previous tradition included me hunting and gathering many gifts, beginning early in the Fall. Christmas Eve we would open all of the gifts sent from family out of town. Once the children were in bed, we would pile all of the accumulated treasures around the tree and fill their stockings to overflowing. Christmas morning our children would come and crawl into bed and once they had coaxed us to get up, we would light the Christmas tree, make sure all of the preparations were complete and call them down to open their stockings.

After opening the gifts in our stockings we would head to church, come home for brunch, and then begin to open the presents under the tree. You see being a family in ministry without extended family in the area, giving and receiving gifts and enjoying the day together around the tree was a large part of our Christmas tradition.

Now that our children are grown and not always able to join us for Christmas Day, it seemed the perfect time to look for a different and more meaningful way of giving at Christmas. Hence my conversation with Mel. Did you think I was ever going to get back to the point of the post? LOL

Her family shares the gifts of the Magi each year. The gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh were given to the Christ child; each representing a significant part of His life and ministry.

• Gold - a gift given to royalty. Pure gold was considered to be a gift of virtue. For us gold reminds us that our holy Savior is the King of kings, and Lord of lords.
• Frankincense - this gift was a costly resin used in incense, to represent the prayers of the people ascending to God. For us frankincense reminds us that Jesus is our high priest, who sits at the right hand of the Father, and intercedes on our behalf as we lift our prayers in His precious name.
• Myrrh - the gift which foreshadowed Jesus suffering and death. Myrrh was used medicinally as an anointing oil for wounds, and as an embalming oil following death. The gift of myrrh reminds us of Jesus sacrifice, His very life for our salvation.

In case you are wondering at this point, no, we don't wrap up little packages of gold, frankincense, and myrrh each year. What we do is give each person three gifts:

• Gold - an item that the person has on their list as their "treasure." It doesn't have to be costly, it just has value for them.
• Frankincense - this is something for their spiritual life. Last year my dh got me a new Bible, it might be a devotional book, an uplifting DVD, or a  new CD of their favorite Christian artist.
• Myrrh - this gift is for the body. It might be cologne, a lotion, or potion; it is something which soothes or comforts them physically.

There you have it! Our new gift giving tradition. We love it! It has simplified our holiday preparations, given us a different focus on the gift giving experience, and blessed us more than you can imagine. Let me know what you think. I would love to know if you give this a try, or of a different gifting tradition you follow. Whatever your tradition may Christ be the most blessed part of your Christmas.

The star that they had seen in the east went before them until it stopped above the place where the child was. When the wise men saw the star, they were filled with joy. they came to the house where the child was and saw him with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. They opened their gifts and gave him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:9b-11