a conversation about Christmas 2011

I know this guy, he told me for the first time in his entire life that this year he hadn't received a single gift for Christmas.
He said his family was not exchanging names for gift giving this year. He'd been unemployed so he had no co-workers to buy for or vice versa. due to the economy and his lack of a job his wife decided that gifts were out of the question this year. as he woke up Christmas morning the reality set in..."why get out of bed ?" he pondered. nobody cares, whats the point?
as he shook off the self pity and low self esteem he looked out the window, the sun was beating down, not a cloud in the sky. he began to reflect on Christmases past. huge family gatherings at Grandma and Grandpa's, The time his mom and dad hid the huge box under the small Christmas Tree until the very end of gift opening and then he opened it to find (at age 14) he was the proud owner of a beautiful hi-fi stereo, or the time the woman he was dating (who is now his wife) showered him with dozens of boxes of presents for Christmas, beefing up his wardrobe and overwhelming him with her generosity. an over 40 year streak of gift opening on Christmas day is all of a sudden ended. but then he thought, of all those gifts he'd been given, how many does he still cherish TODAY? "don't ask" he says.
the aroma of breakfast wandered into his bedroom, the thought that his gorgeous wife would hop out of bed on Christmas morning to fix bacon, eggs, hashbrowns and the works deeply touched him, he remembered he had not received a gift but neither had she from him(also a first). He recalled the Christmas Eve service at Church "you can have peace this Christmas, God's goodness and Grace are his gifts to you" now there was a gift! he did remember that he had received that gift and he still cherished it, or did he ? was he taking God's love for granted too? suddenly he sat up in bed, his prayers were focused on God's goodness and what he was thankful for, he began to pray "God, thank you for my health, so many folks in my life have died this year, some younger than me. God thank you for a loving wife and family, thank you for keeping Mom and Dad healthy, thank you for sending Jesus to this earth to solve my sin condition, thank you for the promise of a job, the opportunities to work, thank you for this house and the vehicles that sit in it's driveway, and GOD thank you for this renewed Hope, this true sense of peace for the future, although politically, culturally and economically this country is worse off than maybe it's ever been, you rise above all that stuff and reveal our hope in YOU. Amen".
"so" he says to me "it may not have been the BEST CHRISTMAS EVER! but once in a while, God nudges you in your materialism and pride and speaks loudly. REMEMBER ME ? and I'm so glad that God did that." he says "now I'm ready for whatever 2012 will bring. 2011 was just a building block, a temporary setback, now it's time to get busy living and stop thinking he's dying."
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!