Give Yourself a Gift!

Posted On Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

Under: Building Self-Confidence, Death of a loved one, Grieving, Grieving during the Holidays, Healing after Loss

On this, our third day of sharing ideas to help as we grieve through the holidays, my suggestion is to decide to give yourself a gift. It may seem silly at first—after all, you’ll know what it is, and there’s absolutely no element of surprise. What’s the purpose of taking the time to choose, purchase, wrap, and place a gift under the tree – from you?

This is much more than just “taking care of number one”. Cheryl Richardson, in her book The Art of Extreme Self-Care says, “When we care for ourselves deeply and deliberately, we naturally begin to care for others – our families, our friends, and the world – in a healthier and more effective way.”

When we are grieving, we need to learn to be gentle with ourselves, and to treat ourselves with great care. Choosing a gift for ourselves is a genuine response to the admonition from Luke 10:27 to love “thy neighbor as thyself.” Clearly, we are to love our neighbors well. So it follows that we must love ourselves well also, and this idea of choosing something special for a gift is a tender way to show that love.

It need not be something tangible. There could be something you’ve wanted to change in your life, something that will make a difference in each day, and you may choose to commit now to make that change. Write it down; put it in a box, and wrap it up. Each time you see that gift under the tree, think of the way your life will improve as you make that change.

I’ve chosen my gift this year. I am going to wrap it tonight and place it under the tree. When the children are sorting through the gifts (do they do that at your house?) and they ask, “Hey, what’s this – “From Mom to Mom???” I’ll just smile.

RoslynReynolds.com

From Grief to Hope and Healing