'The way to receive love isn't to wrap anything up, but to unwrap your heart' ♥

Christmas is about gifts and giving, but not just the kind you find under your Christmas tree. I came across a passage in a daily devotional:

"Preparing for the holidays is primarily a preparing of the heart. Because what comes down is love and the way to receive love isn't to wrap anything up~but to unwrap your heart."

The holidays can be a time of empty hope and terrible loneliness for many. I know that so well because that was my struggle for years after my Dad died in 1993. During the holidays, losses become magnified and wounds sometimes gape open.

Let go of sorrow

What I have found helpful, these past years, was simply to let go of my sorrow and just keep on giving. Not just material gifts, but the intangible gifts that go a long way. The gifts of time, of hope and forgiveness, performing acts of service, such as providing for the needs of an individual or marginalized group, doing these quietly, expecting no reward.

The joy of seeing a flicker of light in their eyes, even momentarily, and knowing that your gesture or presence brought some happiness into their Christmas is like a soothing balm that helps lighten your burden.

It is such gifts that remain in the heart long after the Christmas tree has been stored. When you unwrap your heart and freely accept the gift that comes down from above, it becomes much easier to pay it forward because there is Someone who enables you to accomplish what you must do.

When you finally accept that nothing in this life is ever under your control, you learn to detach yourself from material trappings, you become less judgmental and learn tolerance. Let's pay it forward in more meaningful ways by bringing joy or hope through a kind word or deed, expecting nothing in return this blessed season.

And so in the homestretch to Christmas, I celebrate all the true friends in my life, those who have helped me sail through choppy waters, enfolding me in their love and showering me with support.

I give thanks for friends I rediscovered. Through shared histories, we remind one another of who we once were, the kinder and braver selves we may have forgotten as we struggled through life. I am grateful, too, for new friends, through whose eyes I see new vistas and possibilities.

I give thanks to my husband~my soulmate, who is always there for me. I give thanks to my children~who love me unconditionally. My family is my life.

I give thanks for each of you reading my humble blog. I pray this holiday season, your hearts overflow with hope, faith and gratitude. May your homes be filled with His light and abundant grace throughout the year. Wishing you all a meaningful and joyful CHRISTmas!

Love and light,

SAL ♥