The wonderful thing about blogging is you get to take the opportunity to share your true feelings. Who knows who's going to read it, who knows who's heart it will touch. Well, this isn't going to touch any hearts, but I need to get on my soapbox for a moment...
Travis and I went to his company party last night. It was held at the Fairmont Hotel, which is absolutely gorgeous and we had some wonderful food. In lieu of Christmas gifts, they decided to have a raffle for various prizes. Each person was given ten raffle tickets to start with and then you could purchase ten more tickets for ten dollars a piece. There were some pretty awesome prizes, and you could put your ticket into a bowl for whichever prize you wanted to go for. All Travis wants for Christmas is an XBox 360 and that JUST SO HAPPENED to be one of the prizes!!! I bought some extra tickets and loaded about twenty plus tickets into that bowl alone. Some of the other prizes were hundred dollar gift cards to Target, Best Buy, Macy's, Barnes and Noble, an IPod that plays tv shows as well as music, a Sirius radio, digital camera, and two round trip tickets to ANYWHERE in the US (INCLUDING HAWAII AND ALASKA).
Let me give you a little background on Travis's company. He works at a major insurance company and aside from admin staff, is probably one of the lowest paid people there. There are people there that get paid (literally) several hundred thousand all the way up to several million a year. They travel all over the world to places like Bermuda, New York, Ireland, etc. Now, that having been said, guess who won all the prizes? The Target gift card went to some single woman who makes over three hundred thousand a year. Now that could've been groceries!!!! The man who won the round trip tickets said, "Well, that will just add on to my hundred thousand air miles!" I could've smacked the man. But, the XBox was won by the nicest woman who was going to give it to her children. Travis was disappointed, but we did win something! Drumroll please..... we won a lovely centerpiece. Yee haw. No, it really is beautiful. There are gorgeous red roses and lilies and all that stuff, but it's not an XBox. Or a trip to Maui.
I'm finished griping. In the time I've spent whining and complaining about how life isn't fair, I can't help but realize that while these people seem to "have it all," they are missing out on the greatest gift ever. This time of year people (me included) seem to get caught up in the material things, such as a Tickle Me Elmo doll (Chrissy has it and it IS cute, but come on people), a PS3, or any number of "MUST HAVE" toys that a month later, will be collecting dust next to last year's "MUST HAVE" toy. How sad is it that this time of year, a time that should be for reflection and good will toward men, we get caught up in who has what and how that isn't fair. Shame on me. I have been so blessed to have the knowledge that this is the time of year to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He doesn't care what is (or in my case, isn't) in our bank accounts, but rather what is in our hearts.
I'm going to do better. Thank you for letting me vent. It made me realize some hard truths about myself, what I'm lacking and how I can improve. And isn't that what life is all about? Realizing your faults and improving yourself? Whoa. I'm getting too deep and thoughtful. Time to go watch Jimmy Neutron. Now that is ANYTHING but deep and thoughtful.
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9 comments:
Good post Kelly........The other day when I was at the mall, and stressing over all the holiday stuff you feel like you have to do and buy....I stopped dead in my tracks and thought about baby Jesus and the Nativity for a moment. Then I tried to not feel like I had to do anything, but yet just tried to enjoy the season! We NEVER win ANYTHING so don't feel bad! At least you didn't have to do a gift exchange! HA, HA! And everyone at Steves work is loaded compared to us b/c they have double incomes! And yet they brought crappy gifts, and fought over the Ornaments I brought! I almost wanted to scream in the middle of it "you can go buy your own at Pot Barn! "CALM DOWN!" Thanks for letting me take over your blog and do my own vent!
should have gone for the shoes....
Wonderful Post!!! I think we all go through a "it's not fair" phase especially during the holidays or maybe it is just intensified during the holidays. Thanks for helping us remember what is truely important. We are all blessed in different ways and even things that don't seem like a blessing at the time turn out to be in the long run. I love how that works!! :)
Oh, I forgot to say.....I still want to see a picture of your hair:)
you know I have been getting caught up in all that material stuff this year too but i've realized when I look at my little family that I have everything I need.
That would make me upset too. But you're right, you guys are rich in blessings. I think if we looked for all the unfair things in life we could turn into pretty bitter people.
Brian's work party wasn't too good this year. The food wasn't too good, it was in a weird location and I hardly knew anyone... but it was a free meal and a night out with my husband, so I shouldn't complain.
I would have been upset that those big wig dudes got all the good presents. They should have been exempt!
But you're right. We need to remember what Christmas is about!
Nice post Kelly. Well put. It is so easy to forget the reason for the season.
So last year at my christmas party we had tons of great gifts. They told us to "watch out...there is one gag gift in there!" Guess what I got - the gag gift: a battery powered oscillating toilet bowl scrubber.
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