Sarah Hart’s favorite song is the 12 Days of Christmas, which made her the perfect lead-off for this year’s 12 posts.  Above: Foster youth from Connectedby25 where Sarah works.

Christmas is an unavoidable reminder that I am immensely blessed.  I experience Christmas through the love of my family and celebration with friends.  During this time, I reconnect with people whom I may not see often enough and reflect on a year that is coming to an end.  I smile more, enjoy my days off and relish the gift of life.

Four years ago, the meaning of christmas changed for me.  For the first time I came face to face with the reality that everyone does not enjoy christmas the way I do.  Volunteering at a homeless shelter or giving food is not what brought me to this realization; my job did.  I am fortunate enough to have a degree that earned me a job working for teenagers in foster care who do not have stable families.  In my first year of working, my agency provided each youth with a jacket…because they needed it.

All my life, a “good christmas” was an entitlement, a way of life, part of the family tradition, and an expectation.  And I would consider my christmas’ past quite humble by comparison.  Knowing an 18 year old who would only open that one gift (a jacket) and becoming aware that neighborhood parties, shopping trips, an evening church service and enough turkey to make a person scream would not be experienced by him/her altered the way I experience Christmas.  I feel absolute gratitude, now more than ever.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is so, so good.  Even in the dark, sad places He has given us the gift of life. I am eternally blessed and sprinkled with a bit of luck in this life and I owe it all to the Lord for blessing me year after year.

I love the 12 Days of Christmas.  When a large group sings it and splits up the various days (the men of course with 5 golden rings) I can’t help but laugh.  How often do we huddle around in a group and sing anymore?  Not often enough!  It is an american pasttime that I love this time of year.

Sarah

See last year’s Partridge in a Pear Tree: Samantha.