The Best Gift

I was going through some old files on my computer today and came across this poem I had saved a few years ago.
This beautiful poem is centered around Christmas, but it is about much more than that... and today, I felt the need to send the message that lies within.

The Best Gift
by Betty Werth

On Christmas Eve, a young boy with light in his eyes
Looked deep into Santa’s, to Santa’s surprise
And said as he sat on Santa’s broad knee,
"I want your secret. Tell it to me."

He leaned up and whispered in Santa’s good ear
"How do you do it, year after year?"
"I want to know how, as you travel about,
Giving gifts here and there, you never run out.

How is it, dear Santa, that in your pack of toys
You have plenty for all of the world’s girls and boys?
Stays so full, never empties, as you make your way
From rooftop to rooftop, to homes large and small,
From nation to nation, reaching them all?"

And Santa smiled kindly and said to the boy,
"Don’t ask me hard questions. Don’t you want a toy?"
But the child shook his head, and Santa could see
That he needed the answer. "Now listen to me,"

He told that small boy with the light in his eyes,
"My secret will make you sadder and wise.
"The truth is that my sack is magic inside
It holds millions of toys for my Christmas Eve ride.

But although I do visit each girl and each boy
I don’t always leave them a gaily wrapped toy.
Some homes are hungry, some homes are sad,
Some homes are desperate, some homes are bad.

Some homes are broken, and the children there grieve.
Those homes I visit, but what should I leave?
"My sleigh is filled with the happiest stuff,
But for homes where despair lives toys aren’t enough.

So I tiptoe in, kiss each girl and boy,
And I pray with them that they’ll be given the joy
Of the spirit of Christmas, the spirit that lives
In the heart of the dear child who gets not, but gives.

"If only God hears me and answers my prayer,
When I visit next year, what I will find there
Are homes filled with peace, and with giving, and love
And boys and girls gifted with light from above.

It’s a very hard task, my smart little brother,
To give toys to some, and to give prayers to others.
But the prayers are the best gifts, the best gifts indeed,
For God has a way of meeting each person’s need.

"That’s part of the answer. The rest, my dear youth,
Is that my sack is magic. And that is the truth.
In my sack I carry on Christmas Eve day
More love than a Santa could ever give away.

The sack never empties of love, or of joys
`Cause inside it are prayers, and hope. Not just toys.
The more that I give, the fuller it seems,
Because giving is my way of fulfilling dreams.

"And do you know something? You’ve got a sack, too.
It’s as magic as mine, and it’s inside of you.
It never gets empty, it’s full from the start.
It’s the center of light, and love. It’s your heart.

And if on this Christmas you want to help me,
Don’t be so concerned with the gifts `neath your tree.
Open that sack called your heart, and share
Your joy, your friendship, your wealth, your care."

The light in the small boy’s eyes was glowing.
"Thanks for your secret. I’ve got to be going."
"Wait, little boy," said Santa, "don’t go.
Will you share? Will you help? Will you use what you know?"

And just for a moment the small boy stood still,
Touched his heart with his small hand and whispered, "I will."

The Character Of Adultery

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

Tiger Woods announced yesterday that he is returning to golf. And maybe he will return to the glory days when he was the best player in the sport; but he will always be looked upon as the man who lied to millions.

Anyone who engages in extramarital affairs does so because they lack true character and integrity. A person of true character will stand by their vows through moments of temptation and not cheat on their spouse and family.

Marriage is made on the promise to love, to be sexually exclusive, and you give your spouse a reason to believe in you - Trust.

Adultery forever changes a spouse and children and sometimes lives are shattered with devastating consequences.
Self-esteem is crushed, and trust can become a life-long issue for the ones who were betrayed and for the betrayer.

If you can betray those who love you, how can anyone else trust you?

A cheater thinks only of how they benefit from their affair. The truth is they really are hiding behind their own wall of deception; surviving in the moments of  their bad behavior.

And then there are those who cheat showing little or no remorse for their adulterous actions and actually blame their spouses. The only ones responsible for adultery are those that commit the adultery.

All cheaters show is that they have little regard for themselves; and if you can’t love yourself first-  then really how can we expect the cheater to care about his family- or anyone else for that matter?

I remember an interview John McCain had given during the presidential election. He was asked about his adultery and his subsequent marriage to his Mistress.

His response was that it was thirty years ago…He wasn’t going to address it! It didn’t matter!
But it did matter - even if it was thirty years ago. A man’s past and his behavior follows him always - even beyond the grave.

The fact is McCain wanted to be with another woman  (younger and richer)  and it didn’t matter how he hurt his wife, the one who had waited for him and prayed for his safety while he was a Prisoner of War. She was his wife and had been severely injured in an accident and needed her husband more than ever. It didn’t matter that he destroyed her or his family. All that mattered was what he wanted.

McCain always talks about his character, ever the one to talk about his years imprisoned in Vietnam - but being a POW doesn’t give a man character. Character comes from how you treat people.

Cheaters like McCain and Tiger Woods, just do whatever they want to get what they want.

And thirty years from now, Tiger will find himself avoiding questions just as McCain did.

In the end, everything a person does in life comes back to the values of who they are.

“Watch how you treat people on your way up because you’ll meet them on your way down.”