11/23/2025
There was one Christmas gift I received from my parents about 20 years ago that I will never forget.
As an avid youth soccer player, I had dreams of one day making soccer my job, destined to live out my days doing exactly what kid-Angie loved to do.
One year around Christmas, my dad had gotten a personalized and signed Leslie Osborne jersey, a member of the USWNT at the time who was from our local area. I was able to meet her a couple times at her camp and several other training sessions. “Stars in my eyes” was an understatement. (See slide 3...not sure that smile of mine could have gotten any bigger.)
I opened the gift at Christmas. The jersey read:
“Angie, Follow your Dreams! Leslie Osborne”
My dad broke my shocked silence and asked, “Do you know what that means?”
“Yes! It means I can be a professional soccer player!” I replied excitedly.
“Yes”, he said, “but it also means follow any dreams, no matter what they are in your life, soccer or not.”
Years went by, interests shifted, and I matured. While soccer was still a passion of mine through adolescence, I realized over time that my dreams had changed. And this jersey on my wall suddenly held a very different, significant meaning to a young woman who realized that envisioning something different for her life was quite terrifying.
Going through college, first jobs, marriage, career changes, motherhood, and multiple business ventures, my thoughts still return to this gift, and the sentiment my dad expressed to me with it all those years ago. “Follow your dreams”.
It can be alarming to realize we’ve grown, we’ve changed, or we’ve come into a new season that calls us to be something different than we’ve ever known.
During this Christmas season, as you consider those on your list, remember that your support, confidence, and prayerful guidance is a gift that transcends time. It’s one that lasts, even when most others don’t.
If you choose to gift a Prosper item or gift card to a special lady this holiday, remind her of all that you see that God instilled in her and the incredible future awaiting her when she tackles life’s challenges.
It will be the kind of gift that stays with her 20 years later. 🎁❤️
