Does your church give out Christmas treat bags the Sunday before Christmas? If not, they should. Very few things say “It’s Christmas” to me like getting a brown paper bag filled with a candy bar, a piece of fruit, a pack of gum, some hard candy, and whatever else the folks in charge of the bags decide to throw in there.
I love Christmas treat bags. One reason I love them is that I am not in charge of them. If putting the treat bags together was my responsibility….Well, let’s just say that they would be terrible. Mostly because I can be a little cheap at times and I would try to fill the bags with things I already have around my house.
Here are a few things that could be expected in Christmas treat bags if I was responsible for them:
1. Leftover Halloween Candy. Yes, we still have some left. It seems to be multiplying. Maybe the basket the candy is in has magic multiplying powers. Maybe I need to take the candy out and put some money in. Excuse me for a moment….
2. Toenail Clippers. I lose these all of the time and buy new ones all of the time. If I search long enough I am pretty sure that I could find enough of these lying around the house to fill up a few dozen treat bags. And who doesn’t love used toenail clippers?
3. Artwork from My Children. No really–with five kids I have plenty to go around. PLENTY!
4. Fake Chocolate-Covered Raisins. We have three goats and two sheep. They produce a lot of these.
5. McDonald’s Happy Meal Toys. My guess for how many Happy Meals I have purchased for my kids over the years is roughly 17,348. I’m ready to get rid of some of those toys.
Now can you see why no one would want me in charge of treat bags?
Thankfully God is much better at giving good things than I am.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights,
with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
James 1:17
No one should trust me to give good gifts in treat bags. We should all trust God to provide good and perfect gifts to us.
Sometimes He gives things that surprise us, things that we don’t ask for.
But if the gift comes from His hand, we can be sure that it is what we need.
What is something weird that you might put in a Christmas Treat Bag?
What good gift have you received recently?
The Seeking Pastor 