Rays of Light

Can you guess which Super Bowl team I’m rooting for? Sorry, that was a trick question, because I don’t care for football in the least. I have come to appreciate the sport more in the last few months, though, because few things put me to sleep faster. My husband can watch his game and I can snooze away; that’s what I call a win-win.

However, Super Bowl Sunday does have one thing going for it. This is my oldest daughter’s birthday. I guess that’s why she exudes enough football enthusiasm for the both of us.

Each year, she has at least three birthday wishes: First, for a Dairy Queen ice cream cake, second that the Denver Broncos win the game, and third that it snow. The Broncos aren’t playing this year, but she likes the Seattle Seahawks, so hopefully she won’t be too disappointed –go Seattle!

As for the snow, there wasn’t enough to stick, but at least we got some. Last year there wasn’t so much as a flake, yet my husband and I made sure that my daughter had snow for her birthday. Seeing that it was her twenty-first, we wanted it to be very special for her.

We sprayed the windows and doors with artificial snow and wrote a unique message in the middle of it all. She was delighted! In fact, the snow and the Dairy Queen ice cream cake would have been enough to keep her happy meter overflowing for a few days, but it was her gift that brought the most joy. Why, because it was a gift from the heart –one that was very carefully thought-out and very personal.

After much searching, we finally found the perfect snow globe; an ornate, musical globe that featured a cardinal, which my daughter also loves. We had the following words engraved on the base:

For our beautiful Rachel, that you may always have snow on your birthday.

She cried tears of joy!

Today, as I carried her ice cream cake through the snow, I couldn’t help but smile at the thought that my daughter is having another lovely birthday. She is celebrating with friends at present, but soon she will be home enjoying her cake while chattering on about her day, and I will cherish every moment, for some day she will be married and have children of her own and I won’t always get to see her on her special day.

That is another reason her daddy and I wanted to give her a very special keepsake for her twenty-first birthday; so she would have a little piece of our heart with her every year and always remember how very treasured she is, and how blessed we are to have such a beautiful daughter. In fact, my husband and I have been blessed with four precious gifts from Heaven, and we are so proud of each and every one of them.

Today, while millions of people are gathering around their television sets to cheer on their favorite teams, I am thankful to have given birth on Super Bowl Sunday all those years ago, and I am mindful that the most important teams in life are those whom God has given us, whether they be family or friends. Bearing that in mind, I called my mother and chatted with her for a while.

What about you dear reader? Whether you cheered on a Super Bowl team, or snuggled up next to your sweetheart on the couch and snoozed, did you take time today to really root for your home team –and by home team I don’t mean football?

When is the last time you looked a loved one in the eyes and told them point-blank, I love you, and I appreciate you? There’s no better time than the present. Well, it is Super Bowl Sunday, so I guess you could wait till half-time if they’re watching the game (if you’re reading this now, you probably aren’t), but whenever you take the time to do so, I guarantee you, it will be a win-win!

⇒Disclaimer: My apologies for the following advertisement, if applicable. I would like this site to be an advertisement-free site, but I have to pay a fee for this. I plan to do so in future, but for now, please know that I have nothing to do with advertisements &/or advertisement selection.