This morning I woke up excited~ I had a note and a gift to open.
A couple of days ago, I found this box on my porch, a box with 12 wrapped gifts and 13 envelopes inside. The envelope labeled “Open me first” explained it all. Each day, beginning on December 13th, I was to open one envelope and the corresponding numbered gift. My “Secret Angel” would be revealed on the morning of December 25th, in the last envelope.
My secret angel knows me; this morning’s gift was two composition books. Paper: always a good gift for a writer. I thrill with the knowledge that 11 more gifts and notes remain. Not only has this person given me the gift of excitement and expectation, they have given me an idea to help me through the holidays next year. I will keep each note and use them to do this very thing for someone else next year!
I am continuing to choose from my Bible verses each morning, attempting to do something each day outside of myself. Unfortunately, I haven’t kept track of all the verses or the deeds, though at some point, I realized I didn’t have to. One day I treated someone to a bowl of soup. Another day I delivered a box of candy to a neighbor I’d never met. I’ve begun each day by reading in a devotional, then choosing a Bible verse card, praying, and then conciously choosing my random act of kindness, prompted by the verse. And perhaps that is the point, after all; by beginning my day prayerfully, and reaching out to others, I find it a little less painful to go on without David. Like the Christmas Grinch, each time I do something for someone else, a small section of my broken heart begins to heal.
My secret friend has given me an unexpected extra bonus gift; for the next twelve days, I’ll be looking at everyone around me through different eyes, as a possible angel.
