We asked readers to respond to this question: Thinking about gifts and Christ’s birth, God’s greatest gift, what gift have you given or received over the years that has made a profound difference in your life, or in the life of someone you know?—Editors

My husband and I have tried to live within our means for 31 years of marriage. In spite of heart troubles, broken bones, and other reasons for hospitalization, we have managed and been blessed. Then our well pump stopped getting water to our cistern.

Now we are learning about gratitude and surrender because of all our friends and church members who contributed time, money, and knowledge to replace pipe, pump, and electric appliances so we can stay in our home, even as we are in our mid-70s. Praise God!

Jean, Oregon

Igot my wife an Andrews Study Bible for Christmas one year. She used that gift every day until she died. The gift may have been for her, but her insights from that Bible blessed me often.

Kermit, Maryland

A gift is something we share with others. Many of the gifts we give don’t last very long. But the gift Jesus gave us in His life, death, and resurrection is a gift that will last for eternity. Thanks be to God!

William, California

Ididn’t start high school off on the right foot. After spending some time in special study halls for students with Ds and Fs, I was given a daily planner for Christmas. It wasn’t so much the gift, but the look in my mother’s eyes when she said, “I hope you can make good use of it.”

I started my turnaround the very next semester. By the time I was a senior I was in the National Honor Society. I won a small college scholarship by writing about that gift.

Today my husband and kids tease me about my obsession for lists and organization. Truth is, I don’t know how my life would have turned out if I hadn’t learned about the difference organization can make.

Lori, Tennessee