Every Day is a Gift

My car won’t start on this cold day but I more than welcome the opportunity to stay home. So I am enjoying Christmas movies as I  work on my children’s story. Yay me!

The movie I am watching is called Merry In-Laws starring George Wendt as Santa Claus, and Shelly Long as Mrs. Claus. While Mrs. Claus is trying to win the heart of the future mother-in-law to her son, Peter, Santa displays a little magic to Peter’s elementary school children during play practice. Peter is a little upset about this. He doesn’t want his fiancé or her family to know who he really is.

Peter explains this to his father by stating the world is just not the same anymore. People are not the same. Santa agrees with him and simply says that people need to realize that every day is a gift. 

I guess that made me think. Every single day is a gift? Really…?

I recall the very worst days I’ve ever experienced, of which there are many, and I wonder how those days were gifts. The pain experienced during those times felt quite unbearable. No…they were unbearable.

I needed to reflect on this whole concept. So I did.

The only conclusion I can come up with is this: the worth of a gift is not always valued the day it is received. 

Not that the death or grief is a gift. I will not downplay the heartbreak of losing someone. But the gift often comes later. It is found in the growth of our heart, and in our own self-evaluation when confronted with death, and in the lessons learned with every condition/ situation dealt to us.

We begin each day not knowing what we will experience during the day…but we get up anyway. We don’t know if good things will happen, or if we will have car problems, lose our job, our home…or someone. Our day could be a combination of both good and bad. We just don’t know.

But the true gift is in the waking up to each new day to be a better person than I was yesterday, and hopefully making difference in someone’s life…a difference in this world.

A kind word or gesture. Walking away from unnecessary confrontation. Lifting someone up. Growing within our own self.

The gift is in breathing. Loving. And, in caring. It’s in teaching our little ones what is truly important in life. And our gift is in loving God, and acknowledging his blessings.

Every day is a gift. I do believe this. I know I have often been self-centered and wondered what’s in it for me? But it’s not about me. It’s about what I have to offer.

I hope you can see your gift. ♥️

Andi