Gifts – 26 Reasons I Am Loved, What Are Yours?

Nearly two weeks ago small gifts started appearing at various places around our home – on my pillow, my bathroom vanity, my desk, in my closet, my briefcase.

It didn’t take me long to figure out that Sarah (my lovely wife) was celebrating the 12 days of Christmas by presenting me with a gift each day.

So I began looking forward to the gifts – expecting them. The only problem was – the gifts didn’t arrive at the same time each day. Some days I found a well-placed gift early in the morning – other days, just before bed.

Her gifts were not expensive – one gift included 7 apples, another a heartfelt note. Yet they were incredibly personal and creative – even the number of items increased each day to match the corresponding day!

The most treasured gift arrived on Day 12 – which is the way it should be, right?

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me a note which read…

12 Reasons I Love You + 14 More

1. Your passion
2. Your organization
3. Your creativity
4. Your intellect
5. Your support
6. Your protection
7. Your faith
8. Your love
9. Your intentional time with Madison
10. Your intentional time with me
11. Your abhorrence of the status quo
12. Your fulfillment in making things better
13. Your integrity
14. Your transparency
15. Your willingness to be healthy
16. Your patience
17. Your acceptance
18. Your discernment
19. Your smile
20. Your leadership
21. Your vulnerability
22. Your trust
23. Your self-awareness
24. Your encouragement
25. Your character
26. Your sensitivity

Here are 3 things I learned from Sarah’s thoughtful generosity over the past couple of weeks…

1. Get more personal and more creative

Sarah tells me that she loves me every day – often several times a day. And every day she shows me she loves me in many ways.

Yet her acts of Christmas kindness felt more special (if there is such a thing) – because I know it required her to slow down, think creatively, and get very personal.

And who doesn’t appreciate when a family member, friend, colleague, or leader takes the time to be thoughtful?

2. Go a little overboard

If you know me well, you may have read the list and wondered if it was really meant for me.

To be honest, I wonder sometimes if I really practice some of the things she listed.

But her list has challenged me to go farther in those areas. And when you encourage others, they’ll go farther for you and your team.

So ask yourself, Who can I encourage today? Then go a little overboard!

3. Be intentional about priorities

I’ve written about how creating my personal life plan and developing my business vision brought about dramatic improvements in my life and work – if you haven’t read my posts, check them out now by clicking the links. This time of year is a great time to get started on your life plan and business vision!

In the process of developing my life plan and business vision, I was forced to answer two questions over and over – What areas of my life are most important? and What disciplines must I put in place to make these areas top priorities?

After living, and evaluating, and tweaking, and re-evaluating my life plan and business vision, I’m convinced that I am living out disciplines that support the top priorities in my life and work.

And Sarah’s note confirms that I am focusing on the right things – my top priorities are important to her.

Is it easy? No. Does it make sense to everyone? No. Do I have to occasionally say “No” to well-meaning people and activities? Yes.

But I’m living an incredibly rewarding, energizing, and enlivening life – at home and at work! And I’m finding that as I do, life has fewer and fewer regrets.

So what is something special someone has done for you? How did it make you feel? What did you learn from it? Take just a few seconds, to leave a note in the comments by clicking here – we’d like to learn from your experience.