the world stopped for 30 minutes...

Tonite I did what I should have done a looooooong time ago... use the massage I got for last Christmas! Yeah, WHAT WAS I THINKING?!!! My mom had the brilliant idea last Christmas to give me a gift certificate to Scape Spa, so when I got back from my mission trip to Mississippi I could relax and unwind (two words I am still trying to locate in my life dictionary!) One thing led to another led to failed good intentions, led to this Christmas and one week before this certificate expires! Nothing like trying to relax under pressure...So I booked it into my crazy hectic schedule... battling work, a head cold, and my trip to Peru ever so much closer than before. I won't go into details... I don't even need to know them... but I will tell you this - IT WAS AMAZING! This wasn't a white walled room with fluorescent lites and a butch named Olga pounding away at your aching muscles! It was a home transformed into a little country getaway... complete with hydropool, fireplaces, lounge chairs, water in wine glasses, and AMBIENCE! I hadn't even had my massage yet and I was already relaxed.
For thirty minutes all the busyness of the season, my schedule, my tension... it disappeared. MIRACLES DO happen in the 21st century! And in those moments I thought to myself - I could get used to this. If I was rich I would come here EVERY DAY! From manicures, to pedicures, to facials, to body wraps... I could do this! And in the moment she was done, reality slowly crept in. All the things I had been at want to complain about seemed so trivial. The thought entered my mind of starving children in Africa being fed for a month for the cost of my 1/2 hour of relaxation. Of those who will spend this holiday season on the streets. Of those who will have an empty place in their home, having lost loved ones throughout the course of the year. Of those confined to beds and medication.
It didn't make me feel guilty for having a half hour to myself... although I will never feel comfortable spending that much money on myself on a regular basis when there are people who have real needs to be met in the world, it was a treat! It just helped put Christmas and life in general in perspective. There is way too much we have in our lives to be thankful for... too many people and moments to share with them that we take for granted. When one gets a grand view of what truly matters and what they actually have in life, complaining is silenced.
THANK YOU GOD FOR ALL YOUR BLESSINGS! May my life and my mouth never betray my gratitude.