Thing to Be Grateful For.

I won't lie; it's nice to receive presents. As a gainfully employed, married thirtysomething, I have come to expect to receive fewer and fewer gifts other than a couple of tokens from my officemates and family (I don't exactly go slinking to my godparents anymore), and part of me misses that. I loved getting toys when I was a kid, particularly because they were bright and colorful and came in big, lovely boxes (for which I am grateful considering that if I were a kid now most of them would probably come in considerably less enchanting clamshell cases). Maybe to satisfy my jones for big and colorful I'll start asking for coffee-table books.

Still, I have to admit that my appreciation of the intangible, not-so-obvious blessings in my life seems to have developed over the years, more in spite of my personality quirks than because of any growth I may pretend to have achieved.

I am grateful this year for so many things that went right. I'm grateful for my wife and her loving support, for my two beautiful children, and for so many other things as well. I'm grateful that, when my daughter was sick, I had the money for her medical needs. I'm grateful that when I wanted to send my son to school, and pay for his field trips, I was able to do that, too. I'm grateful that when the typhoons milenyo and reming hit, my family was safe and sound.

I am grateful that my family, meaning my wife, son and daughter, love me as much as they do, even when I'm not necessarily lovable.

Most of all, I am grateful for the singular knowledge that no matter how bad things got for me (and this year was pretty trying in some ways) there was always something I could be grateful for. Even when I absolutely refused to acknowledge it, there was always palpable, irrefutable proof right smack in my life that God still loved me.

I know it may sound all born-again-charismatic-fundamentalist to those who know me, but the truth of the matter is that I wouldn't have made it through this year with my sanity intact if it weren't for the fact that God walked me through every single trial (and I don't just mean the kind that lawyers attend) I faced.

It's so easy to measure a year's success by one's achievements, whether it's an exam passed (like the bar), a debt paid, an amount of income earned or some material possession (like a house) acquired, but even without any of these things one can have had a full, and fulfilling year that doesn't depend on any of the more traditional parameters of success. It's kind of hard to see that sometimes when things don't necessarily go as one plans, but when one acquires a better perspective of things, everything can really fall into place. It's just a matter of being willing to embrace the good one has instead of pining for the good one wants.

This Christmas, I'd like to offer a prayer for the people who aren't able to take solace in that knowledge that they are loved by God. Whether it's because they're materially, spiritually or emotionally impoverished, these are people who need God more than anyone else, and I pray that they find God in one form or another. We all deserve some happiness this time of year.