Would you be sitting here, reading my blog? Would you even be at your computer in the first place?

Or would you be spending time with family and friends? Would you be polishing off that last item on your bucket list? Would you be taking a few minutes to write a letter to a long lost acquaintance or a word of advice to a youthful relative?

Throughout life, we’re given ample opportunity to reflect on the blessings around us. The relationships we’ve built, the personal items we’ve acquired, the experiences we’ve lived. It’s amazing the richness of life we possess when we truly take a minute to look back.

Every achievement we can reflect on with joy. Every challenge we’ve faced and by living still, overcome. Every friend or relative who has entered and touched our story.

These situations are not rare, yet the number of times we take a moment to truly reflect on what they offer us are.

Understanding the ways in which you’re blessed help pave the way for how you can, in turn, be a blessing to others. Your story can help educate members of the next generation. Your skills can be passed down. Your history can provide guidance – both instructive and cautionary – to those who follow.

But it depends entirely on you. On how much you’re willing to share. On how much you’re willing to invest in those who come after you.

Christmas is a celebration of second chances. It’s the celebration of the day the Word of God was made flesh and entered a sinful world in order to redeem it and give us all a second chance at salvation. The story is a wonderful one, and reflecting on it annually gives us the opportunity to look at where else we’re given a second chance.

You have a second chance to approach your job with an enhanced attitude of appreciation and gratitude. You have a second chance to mend a relationship with a long lost friend or an estranged relative. You have a second chance to evaluate your life’s overall trajectory and make mid-course adjustments.

Christmas is a blessing that gives us the chance to reflect on and appreciate our manifold blessings. The day after Christmas gives us a second chance to look at our lives through new eyes and better answer the question: if today were your last day, how would you spend it?

Would it be a day well spent?