A Season of Giving

Oh, by gosh, by golly, Christmastime is here! My family jokes that I turn into Buddy the Elf this time of year, and I’d say they're a curly-haired wig and yellow tights short from being right. I love this time of year. I love the music, the lights, the movies, the food, the magic. I also love the reason: the birth of Jesus. 

The world is a crazy place, ain’t it? We go 110 miles per hour and we still get passed by. Nothing is ever good enough or fast enough or easy enough. We are pulled in 50 dierent directions by family, friends, work, and anything else we or our kids are involved in. It’s insanity, I tell ya! 

What if we took a pause. Took a break. Took a breath, for crying out loud. Pause the Bing Crosby. Turn o the Home Alone. Cancel the cookies and milk, just for a little bit. Take a step back and.... Give. 

“Give?! Are you nuts?! I give enough! I give my all at my job, with my kids, with housework and this time of year..... Are you insane? How can I give anymore than I already am?” 

I'm not talking about much here. A wise man (or woman...I honestly don’t know who) once said a little goes a long way, and that’s so very true. To the average person, $100 isn’t a lot of money in today’s world... it won’t get you very far. But $100 to someone who’s down to their last dollar, not sure where their next meal is going to come from... well that $100 is a game changer. Or maybe someone who has recently lost their loved one and is alone a lot this time of year; an hour of your time to visit and catch up and laugh and cry will mean the world and most of the moon to that person. Got a pantry with some canned food? I know the Parish House could certainly use as much as you can give to help out families who don’t know where their next meal is coming from. Even something as simple as a kind word to a stranger or a card to someone you haven’t kept in touch with in a while. Or maybe making amends with that family member or friend with whom you’ve had a falling out. Maybe you were right and they were wrong, but it never hurts to be the bigger person and take the first step to reconciliation. If you’re genuine and kind about it, it will almost surely go well (and if it doesn’t? Well don’t blame me - I didn’t start it!) 

No matter what is going on in our lives, we can always take a moment to count our blessings. We all have them. Some more than others, but we all have them. We just need to remember them and focus on them. As the Bible says, we are to tithe 10% of our income. Well, we should also tithe those blessings as we count them too. Give. Of yourself. Of your time. Of your money. Of your smile. Of your laugh. Of your blessings. Just give. Jesus did. He gave His life for you and for me. If He can do that, we can certainly give a little bit of something to someone else. It will make a bigger dierence and have a much more positive impact than you could ever imagine. And what else will it do? It will make YOU feel good. It will make you light up from the inside and out. It will make YOU want to keep on giving. It’s a magical feeling. 

Life is down-right overwhelming. We all need to stop and remember what matters: God, our family, our friends, our health, our safety. We sure are blessed. Let’s all take a moment and tithe a little bit of our kindness to others..... They sure could use it, and we sure could use the feeling it will bring us as well. Go on now... go give. You’ll be so happy that you did. 

God bless you and your loved ones, and have a very Merry and blessed Christmas! 

-Shea Phillips-