I'm encouraged to participate in this November challenge with my church congregation.
Inspiring Compassion: The 30 Day Compassion Challenge. 30 days to explore the topic of compassion: Mindfulness, Compassion for Friends & Family, Self-Compassion, Compassion for All, Compassion for Our Planet.
Friday I ran to my "other" bank, the small community bank where my condo association has an account, not the corporate behemoth where I bank.* I was depositing $70.25 in quarters from our building laundry room.
Anyway, I saw a big box, wrapped in red and white Christmas paper, intended for toy donations for children and teens who would be spending the holidays at the local shelter for battered women. It was completely empty.
Now maybe it was empty because it had just been placed on the floor. (After all, it's not even Thanksgiving yet.) Or maybe it was empty because it had just been emptied. But its cavernous emptiness gnawed at me.
Imagine between a child or a teen, living at the shelter with your mom because your dad is a batterer. Think about what kind of Christmas those kids can expect to have. Yes, they are physically safe, and that is no small thing. I'm proud that my community makes these women and children a priority.
But how much joy and normalcy is there for these kids, who ended up in this shelter through no fault of their own? I hurt for them.
After the bank, I had to stop at Target for stuff and things. I threw a little card of three pairs of earrings -- green jingle bells, reindeer and red ornaments -- in my cart. Today (Saturday) I walked long way around to pick up my lunch and made sure I made it to the bank before closing.
Those earrings didn't come anywhere near filling up the box, but now it's not completely empty. I know that some girl (I imagine her to be between 10 and 15) will be handed those earrings by Santa. When she goes back to school after the holiday break, and her classmates ask her what she got for Christmas, she can tell them she got three pairs of earrings.
On the way home, I picked up a Hotwheels 5-pack. This coming Wednesday (or maybe Friday), I will go out of my way to drop those off, too. It's not the toy, it's the normalcy I want to give some kid. I want to make sure his Christmas 2021 doesn't stand out as completely different from all the others in his past and future.
Judging by the emptiness of the box, not everyone responds right away to things like this. So first of all, I'm grateful that I do. It's like that Bible verse: "Whatever you did for the least of my brothers, you did for me." Acts like this give me joy because they bring me closer to Christ.
Second, I'm grateful that I have the extra $7-$10 to spend every time I stop into Target. I'm sure that there are those who want to help but just can't right now.
This week, my art director and I joined forced to buy some Polly Pockets, as requested by a little girl for a toy drive sponsored at work.
It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas, in all the right ways.
*They give me good service, so I have no harsh words for thee behemoth. I'm just striking a comparison.
Ok...so I am sitting here crying as I read this. Your heart is so beautiful. The thought of that empty box hurt me so much. I am sure that was how you felt too. Thank God for you and giving to those children. You are making a difference in lives in ways you will not know until you get to heaven. I pray God blesses you abundantly. I am still crying by the way even after writing all of this. ♥
ReplyDeleteI love this post. Thank you for helping fill that box and for helping me get into the Christmas spirit. Giving and helping others at the holiday is what makes Christmas, and yes that is what brings me closer to Christ to Christ as well. We started our Christmas by filling a Christmas shoe box for a child in a poor country somewhere, (operation Christmas Child). It is good to help others far away, and help those who are hurting right in our community.
ReplyDeleteI love your compassion for others both human and animal. Hubs is a former Marine, so we enjoy picking out toys at our local Target for Toys for Tots. There's also a charity here called St. Felix's Pantry, and we like to go to Burlington and buy coats for 4 or 5 kids who wouldn't otherwise have them. I like to pick out matching beanies. We do what we can, I've been blessed with so much (even though it isn't, in the grand scheme of things, but still). Not giving SOMETHING back somewhere would feel ugly and mean.
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