December

It's December, time to celebrate Christmas. This is one of the most exciting holidays for me and I love that I get three to four weeks to celebrate it. I love the lights, the music, the general good cheer that's in the air, and the spirit of giving that, for the most part, permeates everything. This year will be different for me in many ways. It is the first time I will be away from what I have known as family and friends, away from the traditions I have celebrated for the past twenty-something years, the first time I will make all my own decisions and actually be a truly independent adult. In some ways that is exciting to me; in others it is frightening. I miss my family terribly and want so much to be with them this Christmas, but not at the cost that would be asked of me. However, I am excited to see and experience new things, find new traditions, restore lost relationships and establish new ones. The most exciting thing, though, for me this year is that I get to express myself and my feelings for those I care about in a way I was never able to before. For me, the best part of Christmas is realizing everything God has done for me and taking the gratitude that floods my being and expressing it in a way that blesses and helps someone else. I didn't grow up exchanging Christmas presents, but I did grow up learning to give of myself to help those around me, especially at Christmas time, and in so doing my own needs would be met. This year I am probably more needy than I have ever been, or at least in so many ways it feels that way, and I have still found that what makes me the happiest is doing things for other people. I love it when something I do meets a need someone has or when I am able to help someone with something that maybe no one else has noticed or is able to help them with. I cannot even tell you what good it has done me in the past few weeks to have had the opportunity to do something for my friends or my family. So, this Christmas, as I celebrate all month long, I want to always keep at the forefront of my mind the concept of giving - giving of myself, my time, my money, or anything else connected with me. After all, isn't giving what the season is all about?