Christmas Giving

You might think it’s too late now to help another family this Christmas, but I say it’s never too late for Christmas giving. Even if you don’t find someone to help before Christmas, people who need help will still need it after Christmas too.

Even before the economy took a downward turn, there were families that were struggling to survive. Now, I fear, that there will be many more families that will need extra help to meet just their basic needs.

I have been part of a freecycle Yahoo group in our county for a year or so. It’s an email list where people share what they have to give away and what they need. Usually the needs are either basic or some special item like a bed frame or certain toy that a child wants for Christmas that the family can’t afford.

I recently became aware of a family with 2 little girls ages 3 and 4. The neighbor wrote to the freecycle list that the parents of these little girls had nothing for them for Christmas.

My husband had just challenged us the week before that we needed to pray about helping someone this Christmas season. I couldn’t imagine giving anyone any money because this has been our most challenging year financially in our entire marriage. How would we be able to give money to anyone?

After hearing about these little girls, I looked at my teenage daughters and said that we had all these toys in the basement that they never played with anymore and that it was a shame that there were children in our area that didn’t have anything for Christmas.

My children jumped into action and collected bags and bags of dolls, doll clothes, stuffed animals, and more toys. Then I found a bunch of books and preschool items that we didn’t need anymore since my son can read now.

What an amazing journey to go from thinking that we had nothing to give, to taking bags and bags of items out of our house to use to bless others.

Even if you didn’t get around to any Christmas giving this year, know that it’s not too late to share what you have with those around you that are in need. If you don’t have financial resources to share, you might have material resources or skills that someone else could use. Maybe your family can volunteer in a soup kitchen, help with a fundraising dinner, sing at a nursing home, pick up litter, or clean someone’s home for them. The possibilities are endless, you just have to be willing to give and wait for your answer.