Do you have enough for Christmas??

I remember the days when the Christmas Season started right after Thanksgiving. Some people would have their tree up, possibly some decorating done, especially if they were hosting a family Thanksgiving. But the stores did not play carols, nor decorate, nor stock the shelves with items advertised as Christmas gifts, decorations, etc. Now, some stores do that before Halloween! The seasons all run together. Which would be fine, if it was a matter of extending the joy. But where is the joy?

We are inundated with ads and commercials, buy, buy, buy. Where can one get the best deal on the "must have" new gadget, the latest high-tech whatever, the toy you child must have, or risk being scarred for life?

The economy is in the toilet, unemployment is rampant, companies are shutting down at a staggering rate, millions are out of work. There are people who do not have heat in the bitter winter weather, single mothers struggling to just keep their children fed, let alone provide even a simple gift. Men and women are fighting wars on foreign soil.

 But if one is to believe the hype, if one only spends enough, buys enough, gives enough, it will all be sweetness and light, and joy will
abound. At least until the credit card bills come due.

 

I know I am preaching to the choir here. Most of those reading this are the frugal type. Rehabbing, making trash into treasure, living a life that is about DIY,  not excessive, compulsive spending.

But would you do me a favor? Just remember those who dumpster dive, not for a wonderful old piece of furniture to redo, but for food to feed themselves or their families.

Those who prowl the thrift stores, not for an antique teapot, but hoping to find a cheat jacket, anything cheap enough, to keep them from the fierce wind. Those who sleep, not in a beautiful bedroom, but in a box in an alley.

And, perhaps most heartbreaking of all, the military men and women who have returned with horrible wounds, some seen, some seen only by God. Some of those servicemen and women are homeless, struggling with a pain we cannot even begin to comprehend.

In the midst of your shopping, decorating, baking, wrapping, etc., can you take just a little money to donate food to a food pantry, or clothing or blankets to a charity that will see they go to those who need them? Could you maybe visit a nursing home, or start a tradition with your children of  spending just a few hours in a community food kitchen? Maybe just stop in a VA hospital with a stack of thank you cards, and hand them out to the patients, just spend a few moments to say hello. It would lift their spirits---and I bet it would raise your own spirits, too!! If you don't have the money, or the time, perhaps you could just pray for all those folks, in whatever form your own prayers take.

I don't mean to dampen your holiday cheer, to bring you down. Definitely not, I want each and every one of you to have a wonderful Christmas, filled with all the things that bring you joy. I hope everything you hope to receive will be under your tree this year. I'm just asking you to give what you can, of your time, or your money, or your unneeded clothes or blankets. Just help spread the joy around, you know? Because if everyone who can will give just a little, think of the joy that will spread like wildfire, to those who have so little to be joyful about!!
Wishing you love, laughter, joy and blessings untold!
Sandra