I remember my maternal grandmother with so much love. She was a feisty little lady who lived until she was 94 years old.

I would spend the night with Grandma Fannie and watch “As the World Turns” during the day, and “Lawerence Welk” at night. We would eat pancakes in the morning, and popcorn at night… I think she started my love of reading and writing because she always had several issues of Reader’s Digest to share with me and would ask me questions after I would read them. And we always painting our nails.

One thing she did that seemed to always get on our nerves, however, was the way she opened gifts. We would be going crazy waiting for our turn on Christmas morning and she would take the longest time.

Each piece of tape would be meticulously removed and handed over to one of us with care. She would fold the paper, careful not to tear it or wrinkle it in any way. All of this before she even looked in the box! She totally enjoyed each and every aspect of unwrapping her gift…as we waited impatiently.

As we welcomed in the new year I thought about this and the comparison to every day we are given.

Do we take time to unwrap each day with tenderness? Do we hand it over to the Lord to guide us? Do we choose to add tears and wrinkles to the decisions we make that ultimately bring us pain and harm?

Or do we unwrap it like Grandma? Enjoying each and every aspect of the gift of the day we are given while taking time to simply appreciate the simple pleasure of the gift?

I think I need to unwrap my days a little more like Grandma Fannie.

~Be Encouraged Today~

Tammy