My Christmas gift to all: Show your loved ones how much they mean to you, how they’re loved

Here we are, just a few days before Christmas. As I write this column, so many thoughts run through my mind about all the gifts I have been blessed to receive over the years.

My No. 1 gift is salvation, the gift that was given when Jesus Christ was born into the world over 2,000 years ago. It truly is the gift that keeps on giving, as thousands of people accept His perfect plan for all humankind.

Then, there is the gift of being in my “right mind.” As I grow older, I know what a blessing it is to have the gift of a good mind. When I was a child, I used to hear my mother pray, “… Lord, keep me in my right mind…”

I didn’t understand what that prayer meant back then. But as I have grown old and have watched as dementia and Alzheimer’s robbed some of my friends of their “right mind,” I can see what a blessed gift it is to have a sound mind.

All the other gifts I have been blessed with fall under many other categories. One of them is the gift of family. Compared to some of you, I am not from a very large family. My immediate family consists of my son, Shawn, my brother, Adam, and sister-in-law Valerie; my five granddaughters, Priscilla Rashida, Nykeva, LaQuonia, Afra Loretta, and Jamie Fredricka, and my only grandson, Asher.

I have been gifted with six great-grandchildren — Jaylen, Tavaris, Halle, Marley, Loretta and Shamar.

I have also been gifted with long life, something that I don’t remember ever asking for. Yet, my longevity is a gift from the Lord.

As I was growing old, I remember asking God to help me to grow old gracefully. I believe He answered my prayers, because I never wanted to be the little old lady in the short skirts and go-go boots, trying to stave off old age.

To me, while the aging process has its downside — new pains daily, moving about more slowly, to name a couple — the upside is that for every morning of my 86 years, and 10 and a half months, the Lord has gifted me with many beautiful moments. He has also shown me many new mercies, like a being able to see a sunrise and/or a sunset, watching my orchids grow and bloom, a heart to love God’s creation and having a reasonable portion of health and the strength to face the day and whatever it brings, with a grateful heart.

I have been gifted with being able to get out of bed on my own. Did you know that is a wonderful gift? Although I don’t get out of bed quite as fast as I used to, I still get up, and I am able to “wait” on myself, as my dear sister in the Lord, the late Lillie Pearl Kelley used to say. And I can “wait” on some others, too. I move a little slower these days, but I still move. Thank you, Lord!

Another big blessing in my life is the gift of friendship. I can’t count the number of people the Lord has placed in my life over the years, who have become like family to me, making my life better.

The gift of integrity, of living an honest and wholesome life, with sound moral principles, is one of the greatest of gifts. We all make mistakes. But it takes a heart of integrity to admit when we have erred from the right path, and then make the effort to get back on again.

Your conscience — and we all have one — will let you know when you have erred. This revelation is part of the gift of integrity.

Patience and long suffering are twin gifts, and ones that we all should pursue. Having patience teaches us how to be long suffering. It teaches us that sometimes it is best “suffer” to be quiet, rather than say something that could be damaging, to yourself as well as to the hearers. These gifts help to keep us from acting too fast; they teach us self-control.

Aside from my gift of salvation, my greatest gifts are peace and joy. These gifts help me to stay calm, even when I am going through one of life’s storms.

So, when I think of how blessed I am, I think of ways that I can gift someone else. I am not financially able to buy gifts for everyone in my life, but I can give the gift of love. It is a gift that doesn’t cost a cent.

Sometimes it simply means giving someone a smile, or a genuine compliment. You might never know how much that gift means to the person who received it. So, give liberally.

Have a blessed Christmas, ya’ll!

Christmas services

Jesus People Ministries Church International, 4055 NW 183rd St. in Miami Gardens, where Pastor Richelle A. Lorde serves as the senior pastor, will have its Christmas services at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 22. The community is invited.