Finding Christmas Spirit...

As I have gotten older, I find that getting into the Christmas spirit is a little harder and I struggle more with "Bah Humbugness". I do love the idea of Christmas but it gets somewhat harry. That added stress makes the delight of the season more difficult to come by.
This past weekend I found the Christmas spirit and plan on participating in this event every year if at all possible. My church hosts an event called the DAME memorial. Mr. Dame was a poor child and either did not have a pair of shoes or needed new ones during the winter back in the day. Someone from my church purchased him some. He was so touched by that simple act that after he passed away he left a sum of money to endow this memorial event with the purpose of purchasing clothing for needy families during the Christmas season. People from our church "host" a family, contacting them, assuring they have transportation and assist them in their shopping experience. I agreed to help last year but did not have the "experience" that I did this year.
My family was a single mom and her two girls. I called her to inform them they had been nominated for the event. This is the part I always get most nervous about. I don't like talking on the phone a lot - especially when it is a "cold call" to some stranger I don't know. The mom was ecstatic to put it lightly. She shared with me how she had just noticed how both of her girls were outgrowing all their clothes and she wasn't quite sure if she was going to be able to buy them new ones. Her pastor had preached that morning on tithing and how God will bless you and overflow your cup for being faithful. She kept saying how she knew God would answer her prayers but had no idea how quickly it would happen and that she would be there jumping up and down for the shopping event. She arrived and we did our shopping. She was tickled to buy her girls all these cute outfits and was truly overcome with emotion especially after we handed her a food box and a turkey to complete the Christmas experience. I got teary eyed myself.



I left that shopping trip completely blessed. Here I am trying to be a blessing to someone else, only to find I was also on the receiving end. Her faith was a testimony of God's loving kindness and the gratitude she had was beyond words. The rest of the day I was bubbling with joy able to do my usual Christmas chores of shopping and wrapping with a grateful heart.
I found my Christmas spirit this past weekend and hope that you have the opportunity to experience the joy of giving this holiday as well.