Today I am thank for the simple pleasure of warmth.
As we enter into the colder months, many of us are flipping on heaters, building fires in fireplaces and cuddling up under warm blankets in an effort to maintain a certain level of comfort. Warmth has a therapeutic and healing element to it, and it just makes us feel good.
Some of our fondest memories and most indulgent moments are connected to warmth. We share fellowship around campfires and snuggle up under warm blankets at football games. We share secrets and sorrows, hopes and dreams over hot chocolate and hot coffee. We kindle and rekindle romance over candlelight dinners. We sink into hot bubble baths, indulge in steamy hot showers and soak in soothing hot tubs.
When we lived in Fort Smith, our church, The River, collected blankets for all the residents of a low-income apartment complex. They were gift-wrapped and given as Christmas gifts to precious families and individuals, some of whom could not afford to heat their homes. Some were young mothers with small children, some elderly and some disabled. Some were men with pasts who were making their way back into society. All were thankful. Some blankets were received with huge smiles, some with tears of gratitude, some with eyes that found it difficult to connect with ours.
Of all the types of warmth I enjoy reveling in, my favorite is the warmth of the presence of family and friends. Relationships with those who love us in spite of ourselves invoke a warmth of heart and spirit that can get us through even the coldest and darkest of times. I am blessed with many of these relationships, and for this I am truly thankful.
