After a day full of last minute shopping, gift making and no nap, I sit here pondering the true meaning of Christmas.
Last week my hubby got a call from the police department (no he's not in trouble... yet. Haha) who had extra donations after their food drive and wanted to know if we had a family at our church who could use the food. So the whole family took a trip to visit our police friends. Isaac was gifted a police car set and his face just lit up. Then he was greeted by the Chief and was star struck. After we picked up the goodies we drove to a nearby trailer park to drop off them off. This family of 8 live in a single-wide mobile home. The kids have never had a bed of their own their entire life. Their uncle sleeps on the porch in a lazyboy recliner in the summer time so he can have more space. As we dropped of the boxes of food all the kids came out to help and say hi to Ike. You should have seen their faces when we handed them a Costco sized box of Pop Tarts. Just as we were leaving their uncle was walking home. We stopped and said hello and as we were leaving he said, "I love you". I remember when his sister first came to our church. She told me about her disabled brother and that she couldn't bring him to churches because he's never been accepted. She was asked one time to not have her brother come back. And I told her he would be safe and welcomed at this church. He's been coming ever since. I cried when he said "I love you". When he came to our church, he brought a friend, and the first conversation we had was how he was the only person who loved this woman. While that is a huge blessing to be loved by one person, it saddened me that she was alone in this world. They share that common loneliness and feeling of being unaccepted by the world. But they've found their belonging with God and through a church family. And that is why I cried. He only said "I love you" because he knows we love him. It's so easy for me to get caught up in my own vainity sometimes that I forget how truly blessed I am.
Tonight as I took the dog out I heard the church piano playing Christmas music downstairs. At night our basement becomes a homeless shelter for families in the community. We have 5 families staying there tonight. And they are happy in the midst of a crappy situation while I sit next door in my warm home, my Christmas presents waiting to be wrapped and a decorated tree in my living room. What do I have to be unthankful for? What in the world could their possibly be? Christ is the meaning of Christmas and his commandment to love one another is the reason. No gift under the tree could be better than the gift we've already been given? Have you said Merry CHRISTmas to someone yet? All it takes is one act of love to be Jesus on earth.
With all my love, Merry Christmas.
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