Sat. Aug 2nd, 2025

The One Grace-Filled Gift You Can Give Yourself This Christmas

It’s the first snowfall of the year tonight and as I look outside, it’s a picture of perfection. All that white pure snow, blanketing the streets and lawns. Not a blemish in site. I could just hold my breath and watch in wonder.

If it stayed that way forever, it would make me happy.

The perfectly captured view from my window.

But I know it won’t. Fresh fallen snow eventually turns a little brown, it gets rocks and sand mixed in and soon, it’s a muddy mess all over the floors. You wonder what you ever loved about it in the first place. It wasn’t what it seemed, and it’s now all rather inconvenient.

And I think a little about life and how we wish it were perfect too. Like the picture outside my window. But it’s not.

It’s messy. The rocks and the sand, they’re all there.

And this time of year, when so many are rejoicing and preparing—there are equal who are retreating and hurting.

And I think of those hearts in a muddy mess, even my own at times. In the middle of it all, the word that keeps coming back to me in this season, is an unusual one. It’s not what I usually think about at Christmas, but I can’t get it out of my thoughts. It’s following me around, wherever I go.

Forgiveness.

I think about it so often, and then one day it came out another way in my mind: For-gift-ness.

It seems a little corny when I say it like that, and I never want to be corny, but I think of all the gifts of the season. And I think the giving and receiving of forgiveness is one that we forget about, but it’s one that is attached to so much of our mud and mess.

Maybe we all need to give it.

In some way.

You know, and I know. We all know. Those pangs, the physical reaction that actually hurts when we are in our deep places and heart spaces when we cry out in the night. We long to be rid of it all, but it just seems so hard.

It’s easier to hold on.

But grudges don’t make good gifts.

Bitterness loves to dig deep.

Maybe it’s time to give ourselves a gift. To let go of the wrongs against us. The things we hold that bring us pain.

Even if we’re never been asked, granted or considered. Even if we are in the wrong; even if we are not.

That’s why forgiveness is a gift. You give it without expecting anything in return.

Sorry may never come and explanations never be uttered, but the releasing that washes over when you let go is the greatest gift you can give yourself.

Forgiveness brings freedom. Which also was the ultimate purpose of the gift of the first Christmas.

So this Christmas, forgive yourself of the things you hold onto that are hard to let go. Forgive those who have hurt you, even if they never ask or admit their wrongs. Seek forgiveness if you need to make things right.

Given, received and offered. Life’s never going to be perfect; there’s always going to be mess. But look for the moment of freshly fallen snow.

Let forgiveness cover you like a blanket. Let it rest on your life.

A gift to yourself this season. {eoa}

Shelly Calcagno is a Toronto-based author, blogger and speaker.

This article originally appeared at shellycalcagno.com.

Leave a Reply

By submitting your comment, you agree to receive occasional emails from [email protected], and its authors, including insights, exclusive content, and special offers. You can unsubscribe at any time. (U.S. residents only.)

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Podcasts

More News
The Lord’s Prayer and Cultural Change
The Lord’s Prayer and Cultural Change
I Found God In My Children’s Eyes
I Found God In My Children’s Eyes
5 Sins That Open the Door to Demons, and How to Shut Them for Good
5 Sins That Open the Door to Demons, and How to Shut Them for Good
5 Signs You’re Falling Into End-Times Deception and Don’t Even Know It
5 Signs You’re Falling Into End-Times Deception and Don’t Even Know It
Why Grace Is the Most Underrated Weapon in the Christian Life
Why Grace Is the Most Underrated Weapon in the Christian Life
Warning to the Church: Gossip is Quenching the Fire of the Holy Spirit
Warning to the Church: Gossip is Quenching the Fire of the Holy Spirit
Perry Stone Reveals Hidden Battles Ministries Face
Perry Stone Reveals Hidden Battles Ministries Face
A Vision of Hell: What This Woman Saw After Her Car Accident
A Vision of Hell: What This Woman Saw After Her Car Accident
What Set This Revelation Church Apart from the Others?
What Set This Revelation Church Apart from the Others?
Rescued From the Pit
Rescued From the Pit
previous arrow
next arrow
Shadow

Latest Videos
113K Subscribers
1.3K Videos
12.6M Views

Copy link