Tis the season

With less than a month left until I return home for Christmas break, there are so many things running through my mind. It's really crazy to think that my first three months are already coming to a close. It feels like just yesterday I was sitting in the Atlanta airport full of excitement about my new life here. While a lot of that excitement has just turned into everyday life, there are still new adventures I encounter everyday.
Over Thanksgiving break our family and another family that was visiting took a trip to the beach. This was the first Thanksgiving I have ever had away from my family, but God filled me with a sense of wholeness as I shared a Thanksgiving dinner by the beach in the warm air with people who I am certain are the family God has given me for now.

 Thanksgiving is now in the rearview and next up is Christmas. This means returning home for just a few weeks to see the fam and try to have a normal Christmas. I say "try" to have a normal Christmas because coming back to all my abundance may be hard to do after being so close to people who have so little. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't be happier to be coming home, but I pray that I can continue to keep my priorities insight.
I don't want to be wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of Christmas, and the money, and the presents, and all the craziness that comes with the American Christmas. I want to remember the feeling I had when I saw the kids getting one new pair of soccer cleats donated by a church and their excitement and joy that came with that. I want to remember how I felt when I heard some of these kids' stories and their backgrounds and what they have been through. I want to remember the looks of the barrios and seeing families of 10 or more all living in a one bedroom house with a tin roof and dirt floors. I want this to be a Christmas season different than I have ever had before. I pray that me and my family can have a greater appreciation of what we have and what God has provided for us. I am so ridiculously blessed to simply have a family that loves me and this Christmas I am so much more aware and grateful of that.
My prayer is that my friends and family can also make this the Season of gratefulness. Instead of wanting more I hope we can be more appreciate of what we already have.