Christmas: Final Advent Calendar Reflection

Over a 25-day period, I determined to perform a variety of random acts leading up to Christmas in preparation of Jesus' birth. Up front, I have to admit, I missed a few days. My sweet son was born on December 23 & I ended up having early labor for 3-4 days before he was born. This (& pure exhaustion) prevented me from completing about 3 random acts. HOWEVER, I did learn some amazing lessons along the way.

1) Joy from Giving

• Like a good workout or an amazing day with friends, giving gave me SO MUCH JOY!!! It was wonderful to wake up every morning and look forward in anticipation to each day and be prayerful about blessing those around me.

2) Needs of Others

• My eyes were opened to see the true needs of those around me...instead of being so focused on what I needed to accomplish on a particular day. My mind and eyes were searching for ways to bless others even beyond the daily challenge. I also realized that giving does not always have to include things of monetary value.

3) Power of Acknowledgement

• I saw that even though the tangible acts were appreciated, it was the free gift of acknowledgement, relationship and conversation that people valued. In a world that is surrounded by the "me complex" many people often feel lost in the shuffle or ignored because of technology.  I found people surprised that someone would start an authentic conversation and truly listen.

4) Giving is Contagious

• I set out to do this project without expecting those close to me to jump on the bandwagon, so to speak. BUT- I found the more exited I got about giving (& the more I talked about what God was doing though it), the more my husband and others wanted to get involved and give too! It was the greatest gift...paying it forward. 

5) Prayer Changes Things

• It was amazing to see God move in my life during these 25 days (and leading up to the birth of my son). Some days I switched the calendar around due to craziness of schedule or tiredness, only to find out that is EXACTLY the activity I needed to complete on that specific day. God answered my prayers of a changed heart as well as taught me ways to include/teach my 16-month old about the power of giving! Without prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, this project would not have been a success.

There are many other lessons I learned throughout the 25-day Advent Challenge, but the above are just a few that stood out to me. I hope to continue this tradition each year especially as my children get older and can be more involved. I would be interested to hear of any new ideas to add to this list for next year!

If you participated in this challenge, I am curious to see what you learned, saw and experienced during your 25-days of giving.