The Three Boxes

I remember when I opened the box.
My oldest son always tried to get something unique for me each Christmas.
At the time, he worked at a wonderful garden shop.
He had that job all throughout high school.

In fact, I had three children who worked at the garden shop.
My daughter, who is carrying our first grandchild, worked there first.
Soon, my two sons were employed as well; the oldest first and then the younger.
It was fun for me to go there during the Christmas season and see my children.

My daughter was a cashier, helping customers and even gift wrapping occasionally.
My boys were loaders: they helped people carry large items and load things in their cars.
Since it was a garden shop, they would often carry trees, shrubs, and plants.
At Christmas time, their work was centered on Christmas trees.

My boys had so many stories once they came home and we sat at the table for dinner.
Many people, driving very small cars, would come to buy Christmas trees.
My boys tended to work as a team.
They had to figure out the best and safest way to secure the tree to the roof of the car.

That time of year, they came home with a windfall of tips in their pockets.
People were grateful that these two young boys hoisted and carry trees for them.
Sometimes, they had to find ways to put marble fountains inside small cars.
It was a learning experience; it taught them a wonderful work ethic.

Customers soon learned that these two young men were brothers.
Even their managers tended to put them together on projects.
Before the Christmas season they had to assemble artificial Christmas trees.
After the Christmas season, they had to disassemble them as well.

My youngest son came up with a clever idea that cut the time in half.
He came up with a simple solution that did the job beautifully.
He fastened two pieces of wood together and formed an X.
My boys each held the open pieces of wood, placing them on the center pole of the artificial tree.

When my boys gave the wood a little tug, the massive trees came apart quite easily.
They got the job done in half the time because of this simple solution.
My oldest son praised his brother that night at dinner.
His ingenuity made an arduous task much easier.

The garden shop was also a gift shop.
Exquisite gifts that were quite unique could be purchased there.
My children had an employee discount but even then, the prices were still a bit high for them.
Sometimes the gift shop would have sales on certain collections.

I always loved whatever gift they chose for me.
I remember the Christmas I opened the box from my older son.
Inside were three decorative boxes.
I could not imagine what each box contained.

I fingered the clasps on the boxes.
Each box had a satin interior.
Each box had something inside.
One box had little rocks, another had a jar of oil, and another had tiny yellow pieces inside.

There was a pamphlet that went with the boxes.
Before I could open the pamphlet to read it, my son spoke.
Do you know what the boxes are, Mom? He asked excitedly.
They are the gifts that the Wise Men brought to Jesus, he explained.

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11)

I looked at the pamphlet and saw the explanation of the contents of each box.
Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh were inside each exquisite little box.
I had never seen anything like it.
I knew exactly where the three boxes would go.

We laughed later about something my oldest daughter said when she was a little girl.
She was read the Christmas story from the Bible.
She had books about Jesus’ birth that we read often.
I remember the Christmas after her sister was born.

We would walk to the manger every day, point to the figures, and tell the story.
She would love to hold Baby Jesus in her hands.
She would gently put Him back in His manger bed.
She would point to the shepherds and the Wise Men who came from the East.

When asked if she knew what the Wise Men brought Baby Jesus, she was excited to answer.
I remember the look of confidence on her face.
Gold, diapers, and wipes.
It was an innocent, practical answer for a three-year-old.

In her mind what else would they bring a baby?
She remembered the gold correctly.
The other two gifts were a bit more obscure for a child to grasp.
Even some adults cannot explain their significance.

Since the early days of Christianity, Biblical scholars and theologians have offered varying interpretations of the meaning and significance of the gold, frankincense and myrrh that the magi presented to Jesus, according to the Gospel of Matthew (2:11). These valuable items were standard gifts to honor a king or deity in the ancient world: gold as a precious metal, frankincense as perfume or incense, and myrrh as anointing oil…In addition to the honor and status implied by the value of the gifts of the magi, scholars think that these three were chosen for their special spiritual symbolism about Jesus himself—gold representing his kingship, frankincense a symbol of his priestly role, and myrrh a prefiguring of his death and embalming—an interpretation made popular in the well-known Christmas carol “We Three Kings.” (“The Magi’s Gifts—Tribute or Treatment?” Biblical Archaeology Review, January/February 2012)

Those little boxes are special to me.
Each year they are carefully taken out of the box.
They are never far away from the manger that was mine when I was a little girl.
The gifts remind me of Jesus.

I remember when I opened the box all those years ago.
Three gifts for the baby in the manger.
Three gifts for my Lord and King.
My son chose well.

2 responses to “The Three Boxes”

1. What a beautiful, meaningful gift from your son! I remember the place where he and your other 2 children worked–Waterloo Gardens, right? I really miss it! I always felt better after visiting there–I guess the plants and the pretty things they sold. Great memories…..

   Reply

   • Yes, Sue and I miss it, too.
     They are building houses on that property now.
     The gift of the three boxes is very special to me.
     Every year, they are brought out again to remind me.
     Gina

     Reply