just a minUTE...

Christmas time is a time that in the past few years I could have done without.  I find myself longing for January when I can go out into public and not hear rockin around the christmas tree, jingle bells, or see ten-thousand representations of Santa Claus, Rudolph, and Happy Holidays signs.

I didn’t start out that way.  Christmas was traditionally one of my favorite times of year, just think of all the free stuff!  I now realize that traditions are only traditions if you work to keep them going and free in my family meant we’ll pay for it on the credit card into the summer months.  Free wasn’t really free and looking back it seems that we, or I, was trying to manufacture a level of happiness that was only a reality on sitcom television and christmas movies.

Fast forward to this year.  My bah humbug attitude was kicking into full force and then our small group partnered with a group called Holding out Help.  This group helps people who are coming out of polygamy by giving them assistance, sponsoring families, and simply loving someone who is coming out of a tough situation.  Our small group adopted one of these families…a mom and her twin sons.  We decided that it was time that they had an awesome Christmas.  Our group went to Wal-Mart and went crazy.  Clothes, Toys, Games, Crayons, and wrapping supplies all flew into the cart and we all took joy in knowing that someone else was going to benefit from our small act of service.

Our plan is to give all the gifts to the mom and allow her to wrap them for her children and place them under the tree so she can give her boys the Christmas that she has wanted to for quite some time. The great thing about it for me is that it isn’t about a jolly old fat guy in a red suit, flying reindeer, or the like.  It was a chance for me to recognize how blessed I truly am and to use that overflow of blessing to give to someone else.  These gifts aren’t going to make all their hurt and pain go away…they’ll still have their past but at least they’ll know that someone cares about them and hopefully that will bring a smile out of them.

So from now on, when I think of Christmas, I’m going to think of this family and look for other opportunities to be a blessing, because in that moment, I’m blessed as well.