Tell and Show

As my preschool aged child, Gabe, approaches his second "semester" in preschool his teacher has informed us that they will beginning "show and tell". A skill that requires some mastering when you are 3 1/2 years old. I'm sure Gabe won't have too much difficulty telling, its just the sharing part that perhaps he may not be so keen on.
That being said, I was struck lately by the order the holidays happen to fall in America, namely Thanksgiving then Christmas. During the month of November many of us spend a few moments contemplating what we are grateful for and how the Lord has blessed us. We may journal or blog about such insights which may in turn spur some gratitude in our readers. The telling. There is value in this and I think it is a wonderful exercise to look for ways Heavenly Father has touched your life for the good.
In December however, it is the time of year where we get to Show how grateful we really are. No matter who or where you are there will be opportunities to give, donate, help and serve some portion of the population during this part of the holiday season. These opportunities may exist all year long but they are especially prominent during the Christmas season since people tend to be in the giving spirit, or Spirit of Christ. To paraphrase Pres. Monson, "Opportunities to serve may be limitless but they are also perishable." So in the spirit of bridging one holiday to the next, I am telling YOU that I am thankful for the opportunities to give and serve that seem to fall in my lap during this time of year. At church we've already had a chance to sew bags and donate gift cards to children arriving in a halfway home. It is so easy to see your own blessings clearly in the light of those who have less. Perhaps that is why we all love this time of year so much. So folks, enjoy the Show!



(If you read the above post, you will realize that these pictures have nothing to do with what I wrote about. Then you may think to yourself, she just wanted to post those because she thought they were cute. You would be completely right. Your next thought should be, blogging is often just another way for parents to brag about their children and sharing pictures is a shameless conduit of unstated pride in ones offspring. You would be completely right again.)