Wander Girl

Have you ever received a gift you can’t properly give thanks for because it’s beyond your comprehension?  I have received many of these through the years in different ways, but none so tangible as the most recently delivered by “Santa” and his angel helpers on Tuesday night.   What other gifts have we all received but often forget with the bustle and hustle of the Christmas hullabaloo?

1. Christ. He was born to give hope in the darkness. We celebrate his birth in the darkest month of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, I don’t think this is by coincidence. He is literally a light in the dark, the hope of the world. When seasonal depression starts to hit, He reminds us we all have so much to give and even more to continue fighting for.

2. Family (traditional or non). It doesn’t matter if you live in a traditional family or have created a family within your community. Family is something I truly can’t skip over anytime of the year. These are the people that pump me up, calm me down, give comfort and reassurance, and are always there.

3. The people you call friends. True friends… the ones that you know when you meet them they aren’t going anywhere. I have been blessed with a few of these, and they are people my life wouldn’t be whole without. They are the ones who make sure you are eating after running around all day. Who let you cry on the phone when things suck and when things are good. They pay for your groceries or gas or dinner when you can’t make ends meet just because they don’t want you to worry so much. They are the ones who will laugh when you laugh cause they want you to be happy and cry with you for the same reason. They are rare and beautiful and truly angels on earth.

4. Silence and stillness in which you learn more than you ever could by talking or scrolling or channel surfing.

5. Support systems. The ones that cheer you on and help you keep your goals. The ones that remind you to go to the gym or eat more veggies or drink more water and do these things with you.

6. The atonement. Wow. Easily the greatest gift ever given that allows us to repent when we sin or mess up, but did you know it also covers all our infirmities? Its true. He suffered for our illness. Cancers, Kidney stones, migraines, lost eyes, open heart surgery. He knows the pain of it all so he can help us when we go through it. Not only that, but he also sends angels to us when we go through them to help on our way. Whether we see them or not? They are neighbors, family, friends, doctors, or even therapists who have experienced the same and can succor us.

7. Freedom. Freedom to choose how we believe and how we live our lives. My friend reminded me just tonight that she chooses not to believe in God because that’s her choice. She has had many negative experiences with people who choose to judge her for her decisions but believes she is doing what is right for her, and that’s okay.

8. Kindness. Plain and simple and effective. A hug, a smile, a meaningful conversation, a gift.

9. A body that performs its proper functions. It’s often taken for granted that our body exists and runs based on a series of little “coincidences”or miracles that allow your body to continue to function despite the abuse we put it through.

10. Gratitude allows us to see that we have everything we really need through all the previous list items, even if times are extremely difficult.