Your time is a gift that will last a lifetime

All right, you made it. The presents have been opened, the food has been eaten and the leftovers were sent home with the relatives (College kids really like that part). The sweets are still hanging around, and some of them have applied themselves to our bellies.

Christmas is over, and the New Year is (here).

So now what? After the mess is cleaned up, what do we do? Might I make a suggestion (just add it to the 100 other suggestions I have made in this column over the years)? Why not continue to give gifts?

I know, I can see the look on your face, “The credit card is maxed, and I can’t buy any more presents.” I’m not suggesting you buy any more presents, nor am I suggesting that you max your accounts. What I am suggesting is to offer what Christ offered.

Titus 2:14, “... it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us ...” What I am suggesting is making yourself the gift.

Hear me out. Of all the presents I have received and given in all the years I have celebrated Christmas and the holidays, the things I remember most are not what I unwrapped. What I cherish is the time spent with my family and friends. Many of my family are no longer with us, but they gave me the gift of memories of them. I cherish the laughter and the love.

I also cherish the visits I have with my friends in church. To just sit and talk, share and pray together is a gift in itself. Visiting someone who is homebound is a gift they will cherish for a long time.

Look, I know your time is valuable, that is why it is such a great gift. Money cannot buy time, nor can it buy memories. This holiday (and every holiday) season is an awesome opportunity to give a gift that truly counts. The gift of your time.

I have no doubt that your minister or elder knows someone in the community that needs the gift of time. You don’t have to take anything but yourself, and I will guarantee you will leave a gift that will last a lifetime.

Just as Jesus gave himself for us, we need to be able to give ourselves for him. The cost is nothing, but can you think of a better way to make the most of the Christmas season. You don’t even have to say much, just listen. Let people know they haven’t fallen through the cracks, let them know they are important.

If we all visited others, I think you would find a change in our community, and eventually in our world. Loving our neighbor enough to offer them ourselves can do nothing but change the world, for you and them.

Go ahead, give it a try. It will cost you nothing but time. Not only will you be blessed, but you will be a blessing.

I pray you have a Happy New Year, and I hope that in 2022, I will too.

See you in church.

Rev. Kent Wilfong is the pastor at the United Methodist Church, Doniphan/Neelyville.