A Christmas List

The other day I was questioned: "What do you want for Christmas?" I could not answer immediately, so I made the finding of the answer into a game, an exercise. I determined that my answer would not come from the advertisements in the Sunday paper or from any ads on TV or from my desire to have the latest, newest, current fad or fashion with which we are surrounded.
I further determined that I would not ask for a replacement, new model, or better design of something I already possess. I also would not ask for something utilitarian like undershirts or windshield cleaner. And, what I would finally request would be something we could fairly easily afford, something that was possible to give.
What do I want for Christmas now that I've put these conditions on my answer? I don't know yet. I haven't found a response that fits. But I will. I'm human and vain and materialistic enough to want something.
But I find the exercise to be helpful, a fascinating preamble to prayer. If God asks, "What do you want?," how would you respond. In our deepest, most honest closet-prayer, do we ask for something we already have or don't need or that which would have limited use, or the impossible, or we wouldn't want it/if we had it?
What do you want now, from life, for Christmas? Play the game, do the exercise, put your own limits on your answers and see what's left over and tell someone else your answer. It's intriguing.

Richard E. Lake