The Giving Season

Christmas is here.  I have been more in the Christmas spirit this year than I have in the past.  I guess it is because Anna is getting older and is able to understand Christmas.  We got her an "Elf on the Shelf" and have been having fun putting him in different places around the house.  Anna gets so excited when she finds him!

I get annoyed by Christmas at times because I feel like people miss out on the true meaning of Christmas.  I feel that as a society we buy things for people that really don't need anything.  Someone asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I couldn't come up with anything.  I have everything I need and there really isn't anything I want.  Someone asked me what they could get Anna and I tried coming up with something but the truth is that she doesn't need or want for anything either. 

I asked a little boy at school what he wanted for Christmas and among an Xbox 360 and some other toys he replied, "a house for us to live in".  This little boy, his younger brother and his mother are homeless.  There are 20 children at the school where I work that are also homeless.  We see people on the streets that are homeless but we never stop to think that there are also families and children that do not have a home. 

The little boy that just wants a house to live in for Christmas weighed heavily on my heart.  I thought about him and all the homeless children at our school.  We see children come to school in shorts and short sleeved shirts when it is cold out because they do not even own a coat.

I feel that God has blessed me so much in my life. I thank him every night for everything he has given me, especially for giving me a wonderful husband and a healthy and beautiful daughter. I can't help but want to do more for others that aren't as fortunate.  All of us at Atkins SBHC got together and bought coats and toys for the children at our school that are homeless.  Today we presented boxes to them that held their coat and toy inside.  We told them to wait until they got home to open the presents.  The children did not know what was in the box but they were so excited to be getting a present.  We all became overwhelmed with emotion just seeing the expression on the children's faces.  Children that are so sweet and innocent.  Children that just want a house to live in for Christmas. 

This Christmas take a moment to think about those that are in need and find a way to help.  It can be as simple as putting some money in the Salvation Army red bucket, donating old clothes to The Providence House, donating money to the Food Bank, buying a toy for Toys for Tots, or buying a coat for Coats for Kids.  May everyone have a blessed Christmas.