With Christmas time just around the corner....less than a week....yikes....a main thing on my mind is gifts. Giving gifts is the best, and receiving them.....well that is admittedly fun too. This year I have particulary been thinking about gifts in a different way.
I have been extra mindful of gifts that are with us at all times and in all places......(yes I was just called into being in Young Woman for those who recognize the lingo).
We all have gifts that are given to us from the get go. I refer and believe that they are spiritual gifts. These gifts are ones I believe are given to us from God and can be strengthened and developed over time. I really believe that we have innate gifts, but also have strengths that can be multiplied and developed over time. I have a million examples of people that have traits and qualities I want to acquire. With practice and prayer I really believe it is possible to multiply gifts.
My sweet Mother passed away three years ago December 23rd.....two days before Christmas. Although she is not with me physically every year I have felt her giving me spiritual gifts particularly during the Christmas season. She had a million and one talents that I admire and long to have myself. I continue to aspire to be the kind of woman that she was, and the kind of woman that she would want me to be.
My mom had gifts infinitely more valuable than any material item that could be bought with money. These are the gifts I am mindful of this Christmas season.
Here is a list of gifts she had. Some of them I have inherited a bit. All I aspire to have. She helps me along with my aspirations and I feel her close this Christmas season.
She is after all the reason I started this little blog of mine. All of my random thoughts that I needed somewhere to go....after her passing.
So her gifts....
An ability to connect with people within minutes of meeting them.
She would meet someone somewhere, and within minutes....they would be divulging their life story to her. As a child it could drive me crazy. A five minute grocery run would turn into a two hour conversation and I could only be entertained by the produce for so long.
Warm smile!
She had a big smile and I always knew she meant it
Big eyes that could see clearly what other people were thinking.
Quite uncanning and I must admit I have a bit of this myself. She just knew what you were thinking without any words spoken.
A keen mind understanding what other people need to hear and kind words to boost them up.
She always had just the right thing to say to make someone feel BETTER! It was like a breath of fresh air on any given BAD day. This is one of those....I really wish she could pass on to me.:)
A uncanning sense of knowing what her children were up to, and how they were feeling about life.
Countless times she knew things about me that no one else did or could know. She had Mother's intuition to the fullest degree. I am working on this one. I have a seed of it:)
Countless times she knew things about me that no one else did or could know. She had Mother's intuition to the fullest degree. I am working on this one. I have a seed of it:)
She was genuinely interested in a million things big and small.
I fortunately got this one...however I my time management is just not quite as good.
A genuine love of being a woman, wife, and mother.
Thank you Mom.....you passed it on..:)
An ability to love people of all backgrounds, circumstances and stereotypes.
She had friends in high and low places. I have vivid memories of her befriending the "scariest" types of people without a flinch. She was always there for the underdog. Maybe that is why she was so good to me.....hahaha:)
A fiery determination!
She was feisty. Let us be honest. This is a good thing in the world in which we live. She was kind and light hearted till the right button was pushed. When that button was pushed.....you better WATCH out!
I pushed it a few times:)
The ability to procrastinate till the end and pull off the impossible because of her creativity and whit
She was the MASTER at this. It would be the ninth hour (so to speak) and somehow someway....she would pull off the impossible. WITH GRACE!!!
I inherited the procrastination part....I am still working on the Grace.
A light heart.
Things just seemed easier when she was around. She had a light heart through even the darkest hour
When the going got tough....she got going.
She was amazingly calm in the face of trials. She could be utterly devastated by the wrong paint choice. When a real trial would appear...she was always up for the challenge with poise and a positive perspective.
I inherited the devastation by the wrong paint part.....
She was always up for OTHERS having fun!
She genuinely didn't mind taking the back seat for someone she knew loved to enjoy the ride. She was always most interested in others being happy!
She loved to listen, and was an amazing listener.
She would let me talk to her for hours and hours about anything and everything and nothing in between. She was THE BEST listener of all times. It really was a strength.
She knew all the right questions.
She mastered the art of knowing just what questions to ask and when in order to get information for the aid of others.
As a mother I now realize what an underestimated strength this is. It really helped her children in the end. I was a huge recipient of this gift. She always seemed to know what teachers would help me, what lessons would be good for me, what direction I should be going....
I still need her on this and I know she is still helping me:)
She is an amazing woman this mother of mine. Their is a void with her not being physically here with me and my family. But that void is filled with hope and peace always! It makes me smile to write and think of her during this time.
I am grateful for gifts. I am mostly grateful for the gifts from Heaven. They are the ones that make me happy and give me peace. They are the constant and never leave.
I get excited to think these gifts never end.......!:)
2 comments:
I loved what you said about Kathy. With these big snow storms I am thinking of her. I loved all those things about her too. But I loved her beautiful voice. She would always say I was just going to call you! She was interested in everything. I could talk to her for hours. There are many things I want to tell her all the time. I loved the way she wrote her name, I loved getting notes from her, and little presents from her trips. She was my cousin and best friend. When my grandchildren play together. I always think of having a wonderful cousin to share my life with and I do everything I can as their grandma to make that happen for them because it has been so wonderful for me to have Kathy be a great big part of my life.
Such beautiful words.
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