Thanks and Giving

Good morning, Blog Family,

We are about to kick off my favorite time of year: the holiday season. I have so many reasons why I love this season, and here are just a few.

The excitement of Christmas that showed in my children's eyes when they were younger. I have always LOVED Christmas and tried to instill the love of the season in them. Long before I got to know God on a one on one basis, I knew the Christmas story. While I didn't understand the significance of God giving of Himself to the world, I did understand that I was giving something to people that I really cared about and loved. When I was a child, it may have been an art project that I spent hours on before lovingly wrapping it for my mom. Or saving to get my sister a doll or some lip gloss. I just wanted to give to them out of love.

In all the giving, I learned to be thankful. Thankful for the little things. Thankful that my mom remembered that I wanted those Chic jeans. Thankful that I had food to eat. Growing up overseas in impoverished countries during my elementary school years, I saw people hungry and without the basics like food and shelter. My mom would cook and we would have people over to laugh and share our gratefulness for God's Grace and Mercy.

This year is bittersweet for me, I still want to get into the holiday spirit. I still want to be thankful, but it's hard to be thankful while in grief. My mom went home to be with the Lord October 28th. Thanksgiving was a day that I would hear "hurry up and chop those bell peppers." or "Cut those sweet potatoes for the candy yams" or "MzNewy, you are always so slow shredding that cheese." Mom was a drill sargeant leading the troops in the kitchen for Thanksgiving. I am thankful that my mom is out of pain. I am grateful for the time I had with her, but this year, I thought I can't do the whole dinner thing. This year, I planned to sit quietly and reflect of Thanksgivings gone by missing the matriarch of our family. I think mom wouldn't want that, so I am going to do what she always did: I am going to get up and give of myself in the kitchen, thankful for all of the things she taught me, grateful for the good memories. Afterall, it's about Thanks and Giving.


This has been another Newy perspective.