A Full Heart

Today is my last day of work for a week and I'm feeling pretty good about that. I've had a stressful December at work, and today I can finally get to my desk. It's piled so high with papers that I'm sure I'll find something that needs to be done. I would take a picture but there are confidential papers on it (I know I'm important), so just visualize. I mostly wanted to talk about the experience I had today actually. Every year our work adopts 5 families in the Idaho Falls area that needs help during Christmas time. Our employees are so good, they donate gifts and a lot of money to make sure each one of our families has what they need and want during Christmas. I had the opportunity to be really involved this year, from finding the families, to shopping for them, wrapping up the gifts, and today we delivered. We went to this house in which a mother lived with her two daughter's age 10 and 7. The ceiling of their house was just black tarp and come to find out the mother just had brain surgery in September. The house is in much need of repair. The mother showed us the Christmas lists of her two daughters; the first one explained that she wanted a violin, a kitten, and most of all for her mother to be healthy. Then she concluded with this:

 "Santa, I really actually don't need anything this time of year, I just want to be with my mom and sister, I am sure there are others who need it more than me".

When I was reading it I just started crying in the house, here I am a 26 year old who had a full page of wish list items on my list, and because my mom is amazing she gets a lot of what I want. This 10 year old girl who is wise beyond her years recognized that family and love is all you really need during Christmas. I was so humbled as the mother wept and expressed her gratitude for the 2 big garbage bags full of gifts her children would receive on Christmas morning. Little did she know that she gave me so much more today than we gave her, a full grateful heart, a smile on my face, and a remembrance of why I love this time of year. I hope and pray I can keep that feeling with me always, the spirit of Christmas and gratitude for the Lord and all of his tender mercies he has given me. God bless us, everyone. May you have a beautiful Christmas, and remember the reason why we celebrate this season, the birth of our Lord.