At the risk of sounding like a whiner who’s just venting…
I’ve written before about our possible over-focus on pets (for example: “Critter Cringe”). Then in November 2024 I heard two bits of pet-related information within a period of a couple of days. First, the news reported that toys for pets is an $8 billion industry! Then there was a report about a pet owner who started a GoFundMe for a sick pet… and raised $20,000 for this animal’s medical bills!
A third thing I heard hit especially hard because of those first two: The Joni and Friends November 2024 newsletter told of providing a wheelchair for a boy in Zambia. This 10-year-old sufferer of cerebral palsy had, until now, regularly been carried on either of the parents’ backs. And of course, he was already too heavy for that to be manageable. The zinger was that a mere $250 provided this wheelchair, plus a Bible.
It’s easy for me to criticize pet owners as needing to rethink an over-focus/over-spending on pets. After all, I don’t have any pets! But what do I own (or crave) that, by comparison, is extravagant/unimportant/short-lasting/unnecessary… you know, when I stop and think about it?
This leads to my sharing an idea regarding Christmas gifts for the young people in your life. For several years now, I’ve given my grandkids only the smallest of gifts (that is, inexpensive)—and those were things they could use up, not just more “stuff.” Instead of larger gifts to them, I’ve sent donations to missions, attaching a note that names the kids and says this gift is in their names—and that this replaces gifts they would’ve received from me. This past Christmas, three donations went out: one to missionaries in India (the grandkids have met these people); one to a missionary in Thailand (someone I know, who rescues kids in danger of being trafficked); and one to purchase a wheelchair via Joni and Friends. As the grandkids opened their own little gifts, I explained what was going to happen around the world—thanks to them!
Also: In December the stores were full of frantic Christmas shoppers. One (total stranger) blurted out to me, “Isn’t it exhausting?!” Then I explained what I do about the grandkids’ gifts. I also mentioned this plan to a couple of other flustered shoppers who happened to voice the pressure they were feeling. They all loved the idea!
