Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.Ephesians 5

Sunday, November 30, 2014

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.


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