The pump was running slowly. I sat for 10 minutes waiting for my tank to fill. I was so angry that someone took my money. Just as the pump was finishing, I saw an ambulance pull into the gas station; they were coming for a young man (late teens, early 20s) whom I had seen sitting propped up against the building just on the other side of my car. I sat there for 10 minutes pumping gas and didn't take the time to notice that he wasn't okay. I was too busy thinking about the $40.
As I drove home I thought more about the money and why it was taken.
I thought about the young man and how he ended up alone at a gas station with nothing but his skateboard, in need of medical attention.
I thought about a young woman fighting to just stay alive until Christmas.
I thought about her young children.
I thought about other families who are experiencing their first Christmas season without their loved ones.
I thought about those who are so many hundreds of miles away from their families and are spending Christmas alone for the first time.
I thought about life. I thought about death. I thought about health. I thought about family. I thought about love.
I thought about who took my money and that maybe he or she really needed it for food or for small Christmas gifts for their family.
I thought about how blessed I am to have exactly what I have today.
I realized that when I am consciously aware of and grateful for what I do have that it's hard to miss what I don't have.
My Christmas wish this year is that we will put aside our differences and treat one another with more respect, compassion, understanding, acceptance, love, kindness, patience, attention, and honor; that we will look beyond our wants and see the needs and the hurts of others and offer whatever it is that we have, even if just a smile or a hug.
May your year be filled with blessings and may you pass along the blessings to those who cross your path!
