When my husband and I got together , he hadnt celebrated Christmas in a very long time , needless to say it rather quickly became a rather big do around our house ! We decked out halls the likes of which neither of us had ever seen ! ( much to the delight of my then just turned 3 year old daughter !) but we both always felt so blessed, and so fortunate to have found each other , and had the love that we enjoyed ( Im proud to say it wasnt taken for granted a single day in our marriage) that it wasnt enough for us to only do for ourselves and our friends and family , we both believed that helping others was a core part of the faith that we professed to practice, so we decided quickly that we needed to do something especially special for someone and do good and disappear , like the bible says. Some friends of ours had recently taken in three additional children just weeks before the holidays , and had expressed some concerns about affording Christmas for all of the kids. We conspired with our aunt who worked at the post office , and sent a card with a $600.00 money order in it , in her handwriting so they wouldnt recognize ( she mentioned it to me several times and I did not crack and kept my cool , and she is not on this page , nor is my name, so this should still be anonymous, I hope lol) anyway that felt so good we decided to do something like this every year ( not that it stopped us from being helpful to others the rest of the year , mind you !) the next year right before Christmas someone we knew , a woman with five children whos boyfriend had committed suicide a month earlier had a house fire and lost everything. We, along with a herd of other generous folks we knew managed to collect enough donations to fill six vehicles and have our own convoy to her house , then our random act of kindness inspired the kiddos at little bits private Christian school to adopt them for Christmas! And we got the joy of delivering their Christmas presents to them ! We felt like Santa Claus ! Anybody who knew my husband knew he was go big or go home its not done till its over done lol! And such a generous compassionate heart! Another year we put together bags of goodies for patients living with HIV/AIDS and got a group of volunteers together to sing carols and help us hand them out . This was the best part of our Christmas, every year ! The last Christmas we had together, things were tighter, and we couldnt do as much , but we still managed to surprise the most selfless and devoted clergy people we ever met with a much needed new tv . It was a lot less than we wanted to do, but it felt good for both of us to still be doing something . I had no idea that I would lose him just a short three months later . Knowing I was going to have to face this holiday without him has been looming like a dark cloud for months , I have been dreading it , but knowing what he wanted me to do ( which was live the rest of my life for the both of us , and make him proud ) I tried to keep our spirit of Christmas alive . With finances being what they were , I could not offer money to many charities, or adopt someone from the angel tree , or buy I present for toys for tots , but I was able to give generously of my time and resources to a friend in need when no one else could , and I know my husband is proud of me for it , and it honestly felt SO good to be useful again ! Then there was the matter of little bits Christmas. I will admit , we rather spoiled her , but I wasnt only facing not being able to do what she was used to , I was facing not being able to do anything at all. With some creative robbing Peter to pay Paul , I managed a couple of gifts, but she would not be dissuaded from asking Santa for a guitar! I panicked! There was no way I could afford a guitar! Then a friend brought one that she had that needed a new home and saved the day ! Then my parents ( who , lets be honest have not really played a huge part in either of our lives up to this point ) caught wind that it was going to be a nearly non-Christmas and they came bearing gifts for my kiddo ! And some friends even brought ME a couple things to open ! Then today , a friend and her parents showed up with CHRISTMAS! I had totally convinced myself that this Christmas was going to be lonely and sad, just the two of us by our tree , opening her little gift , eating leftovers and going to church , and then suddenly this holiday is no longer the sad and lonely Christmas without Bob it is the Christmas that almost wasnt, but then was because of the overflowing kindness and generosity of A LOT of good people ! I am so speechless and just in awe of everything the lord has provided for us this year ! And I just know my Bob had a hand in it ! I bet he nudged Jesus in the ribs and said go big or go home, right buddy ! :) As Frances Mays once said unspeakably good things can happen, even late in the game ! God bless us every one !
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 08:44:07 +0000
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