Oh my! I’m so excited! I got a package in the mail this week from an online friend; I had to open it early (I swear, she wanted me to) which is why I already know that I got blessed.
I don’t mean that I feel blessed because my friend sent me a special gift (although that was true when I thought that’s all it was). What I mean is that, people actually conspired to bless me, and packed that box full of a lot more than things. Not just things actually, pajamas – flannel pajamas. Six pairs of flannel pajamas! (There’s a story you know, I’ve never owned a pair of flannel pjs. I look at them, and even touch them in stores, but I never spend money on them. My mom makes them every year for tons of people but has yet to make me a pair. Flannel pjs mean something to me.)
There were nine or ten names accredited for including anything from a pair of pjs to a christmas card; ten women who only know me to varying degrees online who spent months planning and coordinating so I could be blessed this year. Opening the box, reading the cards, just thinking about it made me cry.
I suppose I’m an unconventional person to bless. I’m not actually needy; in fact, Wakizashi and I normally give to someone less well off during Christmas. But you know, there are all kinds of blessings and al kinds of need – I assure you, I needed this blessing. (Everyone needs a little encouragement or a reminder of their worth every now and then, you know.) I wish there was someway I could repay it so that they could know how much I truly appreciate it.
But they don’t want me to repay it. Their gift, they say, was in the giving (which I believe because I love giving). Still, that left me a little dissatisfied. So I’ve come up with a plan!
My Plan (Your Challange):
To bless 10 people (that’s how many blessed me) in small to large ways over the next month.
The Rules:
- give anything from a card (for encouragement) to a gift (decide based on the needs of the people)
- Ask (and take) nothing in return
- Don’t give to those you normally would, take a risk with who you bless
- Give something needed (conventionally or unconventionally) that they would or could not get for themselves (encouragement counts)
It’s not too late to be a Secret Santa, or give for Christmas
I figure, the biggest gift I got wasn’t pjs, but it was a blessing, a box that reminded me I’m not forgotten, that people see and care about what I do and who I am. How can you, in honesty, repay that? Except maybe, to give the same in return to another. So, I’ll be watching for those I can bless and thank over the next month or so. I hope you’ll join me, I’d love to see the small effort of ten woman multiplied and paid out by 100 fold (hmm… if just ten of you blessed 10 people that would be 100!!).
Oh yes, by the way, that’s my self-portrait in pajama pair #1. I have one pair for each night till Christmas, so I’ll post a new pair each morning for you all to see. Happy Blessing!
