Christmas time is here
Merry Christmas!
It's official, Laura. Whether you like it or not: Christmas time is here.
Just the other day I was talking to a friend of mine at work. We were talking about Christmas and what we want to do with our families this year. We were laughing about how no matter how hard we try, at the age of 24, we both can't get our parents to stop giving us stuff or money for the jolly holiday.
He said something that hit me, "We're just the rich feeding the rich at Christmas time." Wow. How powerful. My parents have raised me to be aware of those less-fortunate at me. For some reason this Christmas is different for me. I'm very aware of my blessings and how fortunate I am for those blessings.
My friend wants to gather all of the money his family would spend on each other and use it to buy Christmas for another family (note: I don't think you can really buy Christmas, but it certainly helps bring Christmas to those who don't have anything). He wants to go all out: food, dishes, clothes, toys, etc., etc. I think it's so great that he's going to do that. This same friend of mine left a $20 bill on my desk yesterday to contribute to a project I'm leading for our class at church to buy cosmetics and nail polish for mothers who can't afford it this Christmas.
Let this friend and my dad be an inspiration to us all this Christmas. (Scroll down to the Big Reach Center of Hope entry to learn about my dad.) Let's all strive to make Christmas better for all the children around our cities who don't know if they will have toys under their trees Dec. 25.
2 comments:
You have a wise and gracious friend. (And I'm not talking about myself.)
I have a friend who, when she was in high school, went with her family to a homeless shelter on Christmas morning and literally gave away their presents. The family had purchased and wrapped gifts for each other. But instead of unwrapping them around their Christmas tree, they handed the gifts to poor families who had much less.
Her experience has stuck in my mind for many years - maybe because her family's actions parallel the mission of Christ.
Thanks for this post. And for the reminder.
Thanks for the great story, Jim. A couple years ago my dad and I had to make a Christmas Eve delivery to one of his Big Reach families. That was eye-opening. They had a Christmas tree with no ornaments on it or gifts under it. And they were eating macaroni for dinner.
I learned a huge lesson that night: The little things really do matter. Those children were so happy to see me and my dad walk in with a box of groceries and bag of toys. I will never forget how grateful they were.
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