When The Gift Meets The Need

The joy of Christmas
真正滿足需要的禮物 - 聖誕節的喜樂.

My parent grew up during the Depression attending small country churches. At the close of Christmas Eve services, children were called down front. Each one was given a brown paper sack containing an apple, an orange, nuts still in their shells and several chocolates.

Years later, whenever Dad recalled that tradition, his eyes sparkled reliving the memory  My mother not so much. She always said she suspected the chocolates had been pre-sucked; they tasted cheap and old. You can't blame the woman.

Even as a child, she had a discriminating palate. Cheap chocolates or not, the paper sacks with goodies were an event. Gifts of any sort during the Depression were rare, especially in large farm families with seven, eight and nine children. 

When our children were young and we were home for Christmas one year, Mom and Dad gave each of the grandkids a brown paper sack holding an apple, an orange, some nuts and chocolates. This was in addition to the mound of gifts beneath the tree. When we finished the eight-hour drive home after the holiday, there was a message waiting on the phone when we walked in the door. "Your ungrateful kids left their apples and oranges in the back of our refrigerator. No more fruit for them!" Grandpa and Grandma were teasing, of course, still there was an element of disrespect in the kids leaving behind thoughtfully  chosen gifts. But the paper sacks did not have a context for our children. We had apples and oranges at home.

Our children had never known fruit to be a scarcity, just as they had never known bare-bone want, or bread-and-butter sandwiches. They didn't appreciate the gift because they had never experienced the need the gift was meant to fill. The same is true of Christmas today. We don't appreciate the true gift of the season because we don't comprehend the need the gift was given to fill. Consequently, we relegate the gift of Christ to the back of the fridge.

It's not like we don't know we have needs. We know them, all right - patience, love, self-control, strength, courage, faithfulness, forgiveness - it's just that we have become experts at numbing ourselves to our needs. We mute them by shopping, eating and never-ending activities. The true gift of the season is a perfect fit for our every need. The lasting gift of Christmas is that God took on flesh and bones and was born of a virgin in a stable amid sheep and cattle and straw.

The Divine descended to earth. The invisible became visible. Angels lit up the skies over Bethlehem, rugged shepherds shook with terror, and the Magi changed course to follow the stair. No video game can compete with that drama. No holiday table setting can hold a fraction of that dazzle. When a gift like apples and oranges fits a need, there is a cheerful contentment. When the gift of the manger fits a need, there is the joy of Christmas.

Grammar Tips:
My mother not so much.
grammar rule is " subject + verb + object or abject "
here is a creative way to write in casual way.
"my mother" , "not so much" there is no verb in between.
Bob loves sports, but Billy hates it.
Bob loves Sports, Billy no way.
Billy enjoys art exhibits, but Bob doesn't.
Billy enjoys art exhibits, Bob not a chance.
** Encourage people writing in a creative way, but when you doing the school work, report or test better stick to grammar rule.

Vocabulary Tip:
recall -回想，回忆。
*Lawrence recalls the wonderful time spent with his grandparents as a child.
*I don't recall meeting that man before.
discriminating (adj) -有分辨能力的，分辨力强的，由鉴赏力的。ability to tell the difference.
discriminate -区别，分别。
*The food served in this restaurant can satisfy the most discriminating customers.
*As a discriminating movie-goer, I have to say this is a very entertaining film.
mound -(amount ) pile up, many of them.小山丘，一堆。
*You can see mounds of books in Eric's study. He hasn't had the time to sort them.
*These mounds of dishes and dirty laundry need to be washed.
context -the situation is existing, has some meaning in it.背景，事情的前因后果，来胧去脉。
*The decline of Japanese economics needs to be seen in context .下降。。
*To understand the reasons for these racial conflicts, you have to know the historical context of the country.
scarcity - something is not easy to find or get. Something that you can't get them easy.罕见珍贵的事物。
scarce -稀少的
*When was a child, birthday cakes were a scarcity.
scarcity -缺乏。
*The fuel scarcity caused severe economic problems.石油的缺乏。。。
consequently -结果，因此，必然地。“seqi”有跟随的意思。
* Ashley was addicted to computer games, and consequently her grades fell.
* The restaurant cut their staff, and consequently they couldn't keep their previous standard of service.
numb (adj) -麻木的。“b”不发音。you can't feel it.
numb (v)- 使麻木，失去知觉。
*The low outdoor temperature soon numbed my face.
* She was numbed by the tragic news and couldn't speak for days.
divine -神圣的，神的。非凡的。refer to "super nature"
*The Divine -（大写）指“那神圣的”，即是上帝，救主耶稣基督。
*The composer claimed he wrote the symphony through divine inspiration. 作曲家。。乐章。上帝的灵感。
*The singer's sound is divine. 非凡的
dazzle (v) -市目眩，使眼花。something very exiting that bring you attention.
dazzle (n)-耀眼的光。
*The dazzle of the spotlight blinded me for a few seconds.
*The dazzle of the diamond ring captured our eyes.
fraction - a small portion of the whole piece. 分数，几分之几。。
all right - is a casual way to say "definitely" or "of course."
faithfulness - willing to commit to serving other people in a sincerely heart.
expert - who has skill, experience and knowledge in certain area.
mute - to turn the noise off.
perfect fit - fit well, exactly meets the need or size or situation.
flesh and bones - human being.
cattle - caws.
straw - caws, cattle eats.
amid - among, around by...
Magi - wise man.
descend - came down from above.
visible - see-able.
invisible - not able to see it. not see-able.
rugged - not smooth, refer to people live in the wildness, fight with nature for themselves to live.
shook - shake.
shook with terror - trembling by scaring.
depression - sadness.
The Depression - refer to 1930's the U.S.A had really bad economy, during that time  millions of people lack of food and live in extremely poverty.
still in their shells - not open yet, still fresh, with shells on.
sparkle - energetic, some good memory that make one's eyes lighting up, shining.
suspected - you think something might be wrong.
sucked - someone has tasted or licked already.
blame - think something wrong with someone or something.
palate - build in with your body that can tell good or bad, like or not.
rare - not happen very often.
ungrateful - not show appreciation, not thankful. lack of appreciation.
respect - honor or care of something.
tease - make joke, not mean, if mean then will not teasing.
bare-bone : very basic, (something that with no meat only bone alone.)
bare-bone want - very basic need.
comprehend - understand.
relegate / promotion : 
relegate - low position, place in a low position, put in a low place, not important at all.
promotion - high position,  put in a high position (place). something is important.
Angel - super nature being.
lit up -lighten up, bring light. also refer to "a lot of activities going on."

Chat Room:
Cheap chocolates or not, the paper sacks with goodies were an event.
The paper sacks with goodies were a big deal.
a big deal -了不起的一件大事。（要注意语调，否则会让人误以为“有负面”意思）
His visit was quite an event.。。。了不起的大事。
event -某个事件。something special or exciting activity
the main event - the most important part of the whole activity
main event -.活动当中最主要的项目。
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thought -思想
thoughtful (adj) - 考虑周全的。深思的，体贴的。
thoughtful person -很会为他人着想的人。
thoughtful gift -考虑很周到的礼物。
It's the thought that counts. 心意到了就好。礼轻情意重。
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fit -(v),(n), (adj)
fit (adj.)-广义的说“适合，合适”。
a good fit -很合适。
Bill's job is a good fit for him.-。。。很合适他。
The water in the creek is fit to drink.- 。。。适合饮用。。
The true gift of the season is a perfect fit for our every need.
This coat fits perfectly.很合适。
That coat has a loose fit. 。。很合适与喜欢穿得宽松些的人。。
**fit (adj.)- can not talk about the size, you can not say " That is a fit shirt for you."
you should say " That shirt fits you." or "That shirt is a good fit."