The Gift of Giving

           Well, I guess I should start off by saying Merry Christmas!!! It's a little past midnight here so it's officially Christmas, officially Jesus's Birthday!! I absolutely love Christmas, it is by far my favorite holiday. I don't just like Christmas Day, but I love the whole Christmas season and everything that comes along with it. I love the cool weather, the sound of Christmas music filling the air, the aromas of fur tree and cinnamon and candles filling the air, the way that our family room is always lit by the sparkling lights on the Christmas tree. I love the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping, being surrounded by friends and family, and Christmas baking. I have so many delightful memories from Christmas growing up, whether they were spent here in Greenville, or else where. I hold the traditions of the Christmas Season near and dear to my heart. In fact, we just set out the cookies for Santa in the leaving room and I'm sure tomorrow we will get the annual picture of all 4 kids sitting on the stairs before going to open presents. Only, it won't be a 8 am like it was when we were kids. The only somewhat redeeming factor about my father being on call over Christmas is that since he has to do rounds at 9 am, we get to sleep in until 10 or so before opening presents and having brunch. I am just praying that that is the only time that he has to go in tomorrow. We will only have a few hours together as a whole family (since Daniel has a flight at 6 pm tomorrow to go back to Houston) and I want to make the most of that time.

          I must say, my favorite part about Christmas is not getting presents or anything like that. My favorite thing about Christmas is watching the excitement and the smile on people's faces when they open a gift that you have given them. When I was younger, I don't think that I thought much about giving gifts, most kids probably don't. Like most kids, I had my whole list for Santa of things that I wanted and was more excited to receive gifts than to give them. However, I have grown and matured and changed and now I am the complete opposite. When it came to giving my mother a Christmas list this year, I could barely think of anything to put on it. Receiving gifts is not as important to me as it used to be. It is giving to others that gives me joy. Happiness does not result from what we get, but from what we give. 

         There is something so special to me about giving to others. I have always been this way, and it is an integral part of my character and who I am as a person. When I refer to giving I don't always mean giving physical things, although I do love that. I am the type of person who will see a little something in a store or on vacation and it reminds me of something a friends or a loved one who like, so I get it for them. I love leaving people little surprises like that. When I refer to giving, I mean so much more that that. We, as humans and as children of God have been given the capacity to give on a much deeper level than physical goods, We have the ability to give our time and ourself to others. Like I said earlier, this is a huge part of my life. It is so important to me and the reason why I did service in high school, why i joined the Micah program at SLU, why I hope to go on a mission trip over spring break, and part of why I want to become a nurse. I want to give to others and see that smile on their face when they realize that I care for them and want them to be happy.

          I am still in awe about how able we are to give and to such on such a deep level. This goes way past just giving gifts. We are able to give our time to others, to help them when they are most in needs. We are able to give our trust to others, and our honesty. We have the capacity to give our hearts to someone and love them unconditionally. We give the gift of friendship, companionship, and so much more. We have all these wonderful things to give, but we don't always give them. We either feel like we need a special occasion like Christmas or birthdays to give or we are hesitant. I wish this were not the case, I wish more people would be open to giving at any moment. I believe that giving is a gift, because you receive so much that you would never expect when you give to others. There is no real way for me to explain that, so I just urge you to go out and try it. Trust me, the gift of giving is one of the greatest gifts you will ever receive. 

Merry Christmas!!