My Favoritist Gift

When I was young, I always remember thinking that it was weird that my parents expressed little interest in what they wanted for Christmas. How could they not “want” something? Or many somethings? I spent hours making multiple drafts of my Christmas lists complete with alternating lines of red and green crayon font with holly doodles in the corner. When people would say that Christmas wasn’t about the gifts, I would think, “What, are you crazy? It’s all about the gifts, oh yeah, and Jesus too.”

Now that I’m older, I’m happy to say that I understand. While the gifts at Christmas are always fun and appreciated, they honestly aren’t important to me. I enjoy the Christmas season immensely, and I especially love the times of worship and reflection concerning Christ’s sacrifice. I really love all of the family time and baking for people that I love. Really, I love so many aspects of Christmas...the lights, the trees, the carols, and the parties. Fun times.

This year, I didn’t even know what to ask for concerning my gifts. When you’re getting ready to totally change your lifestyle, it’s hard to know what you need, much less what you “want.” Ryan and I struggled a lot with how to handle Christmas gifts for each other this year. But, like always, my sweet husband came up with a gift that was definitely my most favorite ever. In his usual, sensitive way, he chose something that I will treasure always and will surely travel with me to every continent I ever live on.

Are you ready to hear what this amazing gift was? He (with the help of my good friend Casey) had my blog made into a book. A beautiful, precious book.

I have been reading from it over the last couple days and it has been such a joy and comfort to me. Those first blog posts from the early days of our adoption process have helped me to see God’s faithfulness again. We humans tend to forget the details and the little provisions along the way.

I am so thankful that I chose to bare my soul for any and all to read. The chronicle of our journey has been worth all of the risk it takes to put your thoughts out there. I have so many opportunities to encourage other ladies because of my experiences and I am so thankful for that. In addition, re-reading those posts has also given me the courage to be a little more transparent about our current process, which I have been on the fence about sharing. Can’t wait to share a bit about our journey.