For the past few weeks, I couldn’t wait to finally get home for Christmas break. I went to and from the library more times than I could count during finals week, patiently waiting until I could finally leave campus for Christmas break. I hated getting on social media and seeing all of my friends already home for break. I was determined that every single person I went to high school with was already home and I was the last person to arrive.

So imagine how amazing it felt on Friday to finally finish up my last exam and head home to spend another holiday season with my family. The whole way home from Spartanburg, a 3-hour ride, all I could think about was Christmas. I couldn’t wait to get home and run through all of the Christmas traditions.

I couldn’t help but have selfish thoughts the whole way home. The thoughts of getting a new car or getting an apple watch filled my head. I couldn’t help but to only think about all of the material things surrounding Christmas. I began to wonder about what Santa was going to bring or the presents that I was going to receive. I couldn’t wait.

Whenever I arrived home, I caught up with the family and took a nap. I was exhausted from my morning exam and the drive home. After I woke up, I had dinner with my mom and caught up with a friend from high school. Honestly, I didn’t have a worry in the world.

While all three of us were watching a movie, a home health nurse called my mom, the children and youth director at our church who organizes mission projects. She told my mother of a family that she had recently come across and how they desperately needed help. The family was two great-grandparents who had recently taken in their two great-grandchildren. The great-grandson is 18 years old and the great-granddaughter is two years old. She said that their situation was terrible and they didn’t even have heat. At that moment, I checked the temperature in Kingstree. It was 39 degrees.

The next day, we went over to their home and met the family. The great-grandmother was so thankful to see us come by. My mom kept telling her that "Santa's little helpers had come by to help." She showed us her home and explained her situation to my mom and me. She told us that her husband was bedridden and that she primarily took care of him and the great-grandchildren. She then proceeded to tell us everything that they needed. This ranged everywhere from a refrigerator and stove to a winter jacket for the two-year-old. They needed almost anything that you could think of. When my mom asked what their plans for dinner were, the great-grandmother responded, “We have noodles.”

When we got back to the car, I burst into tears. I just cannot wrap my head around how selfish I have been acting lately when there are people in situations such as this family. My mom updated her Facebook status to tell their story and immediately received responses from family and friends who wanted to help the family. We were able to round up some supplies/money and then headed to Walmart to shop for groceries for the family.

When we returned to their home and gave them their groceries, they were so grateful. They almost cut a back flip to actually have chicken and vegetables for dinner instead of Ramen noodles.

But the best part was when we gave the little girl her new outfits. We spent under 10 dollars on each outfit, the shirt was $3.88 and the pants were $3.88. So for $7.76, we made a little girl’s night. I will never forget her face as she saw each treasure. She would hold each shirt and put it close to her chest, holding it so tight and hugging it. She would put the one shirt to the side and then grab the next one and do the same thing. Her little face was glowing with a smile, something I will never forget. I can't wait to see her face when we come back with the toys and the new bed that Santa is going to bring closer to Christmas day.

I’m not writing this article to share a story of how we helped a family, I’m writing this story to share a moment of realization. I don’t think that I step back and look at how blessed I am enough. Each day I wake up at school and my biggest concern is how I’m going to get through another day of college (and honestly probably what I’m going to eat for lunch or dinner). But how blessed are we to actually go to college and have people that care enough about us to send us there? How blessed are we to have food on the table every night, always having a way to go get more if needed? How blessed are we to be home for the holidays, where our biggest worry is what present we’re going to open up on Christmas morning?

I’m selfish all of the time, but it’s moments like these where I step back and count my blessings. Even on our worst days, someone else has it worse off than we do. I know I will be going into this holiday season with a greater perspective on everything and I hope this will encourage you to do the same.