Elfing {Gratitude}

On Monday night, I finished the last of the gifts to send to faraway family.  As the baby slept stretched across my legs, I cast on for a little pair of elf shoes.  They knit up quickly, and the next day I was able to get them felted and tried on her little feet.  The pattern is "Elf Shoes" by Pamela Wynn.  It's free, and sizes range from baby right on up through adult.  I knit the foot up with Malabrigo and the leaves in some leftover mystery yarn...I think it was peruvian.  I am convinced that felting is downright magical.  That something so big can shrink down so small (not to mention three dimensional) is positively miraculous.  And so much fun!

Oh, they are absolutely ridiculous.  Yes, just silly little things, but I'm really happy with them.  I'm happy with them because they are probably "it" for her this year for Christmas.  I'm happy because they were made with yarn sent from my "Yarn Fairy," as were most of the gifts I made this year.  I'm happy because all of those years ago, my Grandma taught me to knit and I fiddled with it again as an adult.  I'm happy because a little bit of gifted string and passed on knowledge can create something special for someone.

My Christmas is never the most photogenic.  It tends to be a bit of a "kid-Christmas."  Garishly colored lights on everything because who can say "no" to these kids who just want bright lights everywhere?  My Christmas is never the most expensive, and my children won't be getting some of the things their peers are anxiously waiting to unwrap underneath the Christmas tree.

But this year, I'm grateful that the thing that soothes me and brings me joy is something that can also be wrapped up and passed along.  Something that can be made into a token of love and appreciation for someone else.  Not because I'm so great or have so much time or energy to make everything from hand, but because it gives me the chance to give more than I'd be able to otherwise. With knitting, I can wrap my people in my affections.  I'm grateful for that.

There are a lot of things like that.  I'm so grateful I'm able to take my kids out in the snow and play with them.  That I can read them stories and say all the colors of the lights on our tree, one by one.  That I can feel the weight of my four year old nestled in my lap and hear him say that our little charlie brown tree is the most beautiful he's ever seen.  I can take them to the Living Nativity at a local church and stand freezing in the cold while they pet the animals and take it all in.

Sometimes our God-given abilities are the things that are easiest to take for granted.  I can forget that every breath we breathe, every touch, every smile - is a gift.  And yes, being able to knit is just like that.  Being able to cook, or bake, sing or dance, smile and laugh. This year, I'm so thankful that I'm able to experience it all and pass it on to those around me.

As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 

1 Peter 4:10

{Linking up with Ginny today!}

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