We Are Blessed

"We Are Blessed".  Those were the simple words I chose for our Christmas card this year.  As I was going through what seemed like millions of options for Christmas cards those are the words that stuck with me.  I sat there and briefly reflected on our year and thought of all the people around us who are hurting and I thought nothing could be more true than the simple words, "WE ARE BLESSED". 


Tonight as I was being Santa, setting up the toys just right, in a way as to get the happiest looks on the faces of the children in the morning I began to really think deeply about what I was doing.  I was putting out toys for my precious children, my precious HEALTHY children.  It so happened that Fox News was on and their was a family on speaking about their son who had died from an extremely rare form of cancer.  He was 2.  His name was Dax Locke and his mother Julie Locke started a foundation called "Cherish Every Moment".  You can read about it here www.daxlocke.com Then I started thinking about the family of Zach Little and how they are holding on to the realization that this may be their last Christmas with their precious son.  He is 10 years old.  You can read about this sweet family at www.caringbridge.com/zachlittle.  People around us are hurting, they are suffering and we are called (if we are Christians) to love on each other, lift each other up, be selfless by serving someone else, someone with a greater need than our own.  Sometimes this means doing something bigger than us, sometimes it may just mean showing up in the life of someone who needs uplifting.  So often we sit around moping in our pity parties, feeling sorry for ourselves for our circumstances, there must come a time when we realize that someone is hurting worse than us, this "bad" thing doesn't have to define who I am, there is always someone hurting worse than us and we should reach out to them.  


This afternoon I spent about 20 minutes on the phone with a precious friend.  She is a young, beautiful, smart, head strong, business owner, vibrant, ambitious, mother of a 19 month old son and she is a widow.  I doubt under any circumstances that she thought last Christmas would be her last with her husband.  She just turned 30, she has been with her husband for 16 years, their life was just beginning and yet so quickly ended.  I ache for her, I cried with her today and wish that somehow all of her friends could just take a piece of her pain away. It isn't fair, we all know that but because of all the things I mentioned about her, she will be alright, she will grieve and she will grow and she will be happy again.  She has an awesome family and serves a loving God who will hold her up when she can't hold herself up.  I am thankful for her friendship in my life, she inspires me every time I see her pretty smile.


This wasn't meant to be a depressing or sad post, just a post to maybe make us all, including myself realize that there is always someone less fortunate or hurting way worse than us.  I can't imagine us doing anything better for ourselves than lifting up someone else.  You never know when it may be you that needs the lift! 


This Christmas I am so blessed, I am SO thankful and my prayer for myself is to somehow slow down and find a way to love on others.  


Thank you God for the most amazing gift of Jesus.  Thank you thank you thank you!!