Buttons by Randall Nelson
Buttons from Gift Guide
Breathe in, big. Real big. Let it out, slow. Real slow. Look around till you spot something beautiful. An apple? A candle? Maybe it's a button on this page right here. Maybe the peace button reminds you of your jean jacket buttons back in high school, maybe wanting peace, maybe advertising your love of the Go-Go's. Take a few moments to think about any beautiful thing that gives you joy.
Now, let's talk. Phew. What a year. Pandemic, uprising, economic turmoil, political turmoil, elections—you've been called on to be strong like never before. To endure Thanksgiving without the whole family. To navigate third grade from behind a computer. To dig deep, and the next day, dig deeper, and the next day, maybe cry in the bathroom or yell at the car radio, but never give in and never give up.
"Take a few moments to think about any beautiful thing that gives you joy." – D.M.G.
Gifts. What are gifts? When you give a puppy a dog toy, are you giving them a toy or are you giving yourself the laughter of watching them chew out the squeaker? If a toddler prefers the cardboard box to the music box inside, what was the gift? And let's not even get into the fraught world of gifts within difficult relationships, the book of love poems from the former sweethearts, the cleaning appliance from the judgmental in-law. Oof. Gifts can be complicated. Or gifts can be simple. So give yourself one big simple gift. Acknowledge all the hard things you've done this year—and tell yourself thank you. You saw it all; it was so very hard. Breathe in—real big. Breathe out—real slow. Collect your gift—it's right inside, that feeling that you did good despite everything.
