Have you ever wondered what to get someone for Christmas? Here is a story that should be a help, particularly for younger persons.

Jimmy lived about three blocks down the street from an elderly woman who lived by herself. Somehow, he got into doing odd jobs for her—like mowing her lawn. She never paid him anything, but she did tell him that come Christmas, he’d get a nice gift. At that point, Jimmy began to picture a new bicycle standing beside the Christmas tree. 

Christmas morning, Jimmy’s father had to practically sit on him to keep him from tearing down the street to the lady’s house. “Jimmy, you’ve got to give her time to get out of bed, get dressed, and have some breakfast before you go see her.” Finally, his father told him it was OK for him to go see her.

“Well, Jimmy,” she said, “you came for your Christmas gift. I have it right here.” What she handed him was a very thinly wrapped package about the size of a notebook paper. You might say Jimmy was broken-hearted over not getting a bicycle. He swallowed hard and said, “Thank you,” and left to go home. 

Jimmy’s father was naturally curious about what Jimmy may have received. When the package was opened, inside were three sheets (8 1/2” x 11”) of something he didn’t have a clue as to what they were. “Jimmy,” his father said, “what you’re looking at is what is called carbon paper. You put it between two sheets of empty paper, and when you write on one, the carbon paper makes a copy on the next sheet.” 

Jimmy wasn’t very pleased, but a few days later, he started using the paper to make some copies of whatever he was writing at the time. By the time he was finished, there wasn’t a speck of carbon on even one of those three sheets. Looking back on it, Jimmy later said those were the reasons why he ended up becoming a writer. His name? James Michener. After that he always said that adults should give children a gift that will have a positive impact on their future life—like writing. 

In case you’re not sure what to give a young person as a gift this Christmas, you may want to say a few prayers for God to guide you in your choice, and that He will help you pick something that will have a long-range impact on their life.

Make sense? I think so. Best wishes for your choice/s.