Iām a word lover! Anyone who knows me knows I will stop mid-sentence to look up a definition, because words carry worlds, and sometimes one simple meaning can shift an entire perspective. Lately, one word has been holding me, stirring me, teaching me: āmeaningfulā, full of meaning.
This month, Iāve been asking myself: How do I show up for life, and how do I show up for the people I love, in a truly meaningful way? Because if weāre honest, at the end of the day, thatās all that really matters.
December is beautiful, but it can also be heavy. Some people smile through pain no one ever sees. Others pour so much into everyone else that they, too, need to be poured into, a reminder that they matter, that they are seen, that their existence makes the world brighter.
My mother taught me an acronym that has stayed with me all my life: G.I.F.T.: Get It FOR Them.
Not what you think they should have. Not what you prefer. But what they want, need, love, or long for. A gift tuned to them. And truth be told, this reaches far beyond presents under a tree.
Sometimes āgetting it for themā looks like:
Making room in your schedule instead of squeezing someone into leftover time
Listening with your heart, not just with your ears
Showing up the way they receive love, not the way youāre used to giving it
Offering grace, patience, or presence, the things no store can wrap
Meaningful isnāt grand. Meaningful is intentional. Itās personal. Itās love that pays attention.
So this December, can we make a collective decision to show up fully, not halfway?
To be the reason someone feels valued?
To honor those who give endlessly and uplift those who suffer silently?
Because the world truly wouldnāt be the same without them, or without you.
Letās be meaningful.
Letās live meaningfully.
Letās love meaningfully.
After allā¦ that is the real gift.
Sheba
