Christmas, I know, is not about the store-bought gifts that are nicely wrapped and placed beneath the tree only to be torn open before the buttcrack of dawn on Christmas day. I love it though, when, unexpectedly, (how was that for a run-on of overusage of commas???!) there ends up being gifts under the tree for me.
This year, for me, has been about focusing on the inner gifts of Christmas and the Love that abounds within me. I have felt happy about my early decision to release the need to purchase gifts and to declare the store-bought-gift-giving portion of the season complete before I had even begun. Mostly, that was out of necessity due to the fact that my bank account has ran dry. However, it was also a very conscious decision to discover a different way to celebrate this year. I could have gone willy-nilly with my emergency credit card. I could have. I chose not to.
What has happened is I have felt peaceful through the whole season… since Halloween, actually. When I have been in stores, which has been rarely, I have been able to browse and smile and leave with only what I came there to get. The few gifts that I did allot for myself to buy – which was only for my daughter – came in under the amount that I had decided I would spend. And, still, I feel peace.
So… this morning… when my daughter woke me with a bright smile and a whispering, “Momma… can we get up? I waited until seven,” I ventured into the living room with her, my father and his wife in tow. Much to my amazement, I had more gifts placed at my feet to open than I have ever had on one Christmas morning in the last ten years.
I felt overflowing with gratitude and love and peace and reverence. I feel grateful that this year has been about finding the LOVE that is this season and turned out being a huge experience of receiving.
Merry Christmas!
