A Heart Overflowing: Counting One Thousand Gifts (#235-251)

Learning to count is one of the many things we hope to teach our young.  Often it is a painstaking endeavor, not just for us but for the child.  Many learned tasks are.  However, learning to count becomes one of the handiest tools in our bag of skills.  Counting money is almost essential.  For little ones, counting on their fingers becomes a game.  As we get older, we'd like to stop counting the years that add up!

Counting gifts almost sounds like something we shouldn't be doing, as it might imply competition on special days like Christmas and birthdays.  Or it could mean we're checking to make sure we got everything we think we deserved and a number will define that for us.

However, counting gifts has an entirely different meaning for the child of God.  God blesses us with so many gifts -- a new day, blue skies, rain for the fields, snow for winter activities, food to eat, water to drink, and so much more, even more than some of our brothers and sisters in other countries will ever have.  Let me share some of my recent gifts:

235.  Christmas letters from friends who live far away.
236.  Joyful sounds of Christmas music.
237.  Good call with Jim and Helen.
238.  Caregiving and loving husband.
239.  Winter solstice and sunlight peeking in at the windows.
240.  Positive follow-up visit with surgeon.
241.  Celebrating Christmas with family.
242.  Playing with great-granddaughter Kylie as she opened presents.
243.  Meeting and holding new great-grandson Everett.
244.  Meeting grandson's girlfriend for the first time.
245.  Gift of Christmas Eve and a beautiful church service.
246.  The manger.
247.  Worship on Christmas morning.
248.  The quiet of Christmas afternoon.
249.  Tiny ray of sunlight on a gray day.
250.  Calls to family members across the country.
251.  Gift of the Christ Child.

I hope someday soon you'll begin counting One Thousand Gifts with us.  Just visit Ann Voskamp's site, A Holy Experience, to learn more.