Tis the Season to be merry…a season of goodwill and cheer. Tis the season where we think of others’ needs and wants more than our own.
We spend so much time and energy on making things happen for our family and friends. We bake endless goodies, and we travel near and far. We shop till we drop because naughty or nice doesn’t stop us from getting that one last gift on the list. We call it the season of cheer yet we stress and exhaust ourselves more than we can handle at times, just to make sure our loved ones have a perfect Christmas.
It’s amazing how much time and effort we put into things in the month of December. It seems so much easier to think of others and to give during Christmas season than any other time of the year. This year I’ve been reflecting at how many times I had the joy of experiencing gift giving and Christmas, beyond the month of December. When I lived in the northern part of Iraq, my family worked with large humanitarian networks such as Red Cross, UNICEF, and United Nations, along with smaller ones like Horizon International, Open Doors, and World In Need. Often times they would bring medicine, food, and clothing for us to distribute to the poor. One afternoon, United Nations showed up at our doorstep with 20 large brown bags, each containing 50lbs of powdered milk, 1,000lbs in total. They provided us with a scale, Ziploc bags, and requested we distribute to the war and poverty-stricken villages. As we started delivering the milk, it was like Christmas everywhere. It wasn’t Christmas season, but it sure felt like it. The looks and the emotions of gratitude were priceless, and the smiles shone so bright, it was contagious. Providing a poor man free medicine because he can’t afford it or he can’t find it anywhere in town brought more joy than any gift someone could have given him. People were blessed with an opportunity to receive a gift that didn’t need anything in return other than a smile.
These organizations were able to bring joy and aid with the help of givers, mostly from the United States. Givers who go out of their way to help others, and are willing to support organizations even if they don’t know who is on the receiving end, and they don’t get to see the outcome. Looking back, I realize how those givers brought me the spirit of Christmas more times than I could count. My prayer now is that my family and I find ways to give year round, because I believe the heart of service is everyone’s calling. It doesn’t have to have a monetary value, it could be our time. Everything counts, small or big…it doesn’t matter. I encourage you to take a look at the areas where you can make a difference and start small, one day it will add up, and you will change someone’s life without even knowing it.
Merry Christmas from my family to yours!!
Very well said. Just reading this, it is amazing and humbling how much I take for granted and ask for such trivial things when there are people whose only want in this world is the basics to keep them going. Thanks for the share!