The Gift

I'm sure that Christmas is the time when the most gifts are given to the most people in every place around the world. As Christmas 2012 comes (tomorrow), I'm asking myself: "What should I give myself?"

It is a valid question because as Mrs. Pastor I find that I'm almost always giving. Just a few examples so you "see" and possibly feel where I'm coming from.

First off, the direct result of being Mrs. Pastor is that I "give" of my husband to others - ok, he's giving himself to the Lord & hence giving of himself to those in our care. Whichever way you look at it, there is a giving - and more giving - willingly or not. Hmm - maybe we should talk about the "Willing wife" one day.

Then as Mrs. Pastor, I have to give of myself - which sometimes means that I do not give to myself. For instance, I cannot count how many times I'd rather do something by/for myself or with my family and have to do something else for someone else - whether or not they notice, appreciate or even say "Thank you" - that's another day's story. To be clear, I'm not complaining, just commenting.

Then our children, are sharing their parents and family time with many others. Now this is one reason why I do my best to "protect" our family life so my children are not put off from the ministry. I cannot stress this enough because it will be a disaster in minstry if we "lose" our children. Yes - God forbid!

Despite these 3 generic examples, to have/be in a position to give - even if it's empathetic ears, helping hands and/or supportive shoulders - is a privilege to the giver (i.e. you & I). I truly appreciate God for the many opportunities and resources He provides to us...to give and share with others.

So this Christmas, in addition to giving items & time to others, I've decided to give some time to myself. The Bible abounds with examples of "me-time." Jesus often went off alone - to rest and be refreshed. It didn't occur to me until I started looking for a picture for this piece that the word "me" is within the word "time" - which says to me that I need to "find me within the time I have." Now that can lead us into a whole new topic about discovering, pursuing and fulfilling our purpose in life -  however, I'll stick to the gift of me-time for now.

In fact, the more I think about it maybe that should be one of my life resolutions - to have me-time more frequently - not just on my birthday. I know that a lot of us get so caught up in the "busyness" of life that sometimes we do not take the time to care for our own lives as we should. As we wrap up this Leap year, I encourage you to change - "wrap" and give yourself a gift of/for yourself (pun intended).

Give yourself time for you...then you'll have more to give - the cycle continues.

Wishing you and yours a very merry, restful and refreshing Christmas. God bless.